


The 12 Days of Christmas: Captain Swan Edition

by fallinrain



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Gen, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-14 23:39:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 64,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13018647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallinrain/pseuds/fallinrain
Summary: A series of 12 Christmas one shots featuring Captain Swan. Part of the 12 Days of CS Christmas Challenge created by secretlessvicki on Tumblr. Every day has its own theme and each of the one shots will be somehow related to the theme in question. Some might fit better than others. These will be mostly unrelated, save for a couple of exceptions. A few of these will be AU and others will tie into my other story All We Ever Wanted.





	1. Workaholic

**Author's Note:**

> Today's theme: workaholics/business rivals during Christmas.
> 
> Something strange is going on and Emma Swan is determined to get to the bottom of it. Her longtime boyfriend Killian Jones has been acting odd ever since deciding to end his fishing season. When Emma asks him what he's been up to, all he'll say is that he's been busy. But busy doing what? Emma learns that he's picked up a few odd jobs around town to make some extra money, but what does he need the money for? And why's he keeping it a secret? Emma's going to find out.
> 
> This is an AU that takes place in Storybrooke which for the purposes of this one shot is a regular town. No magic or fairy tale characters. Mary Margaret and David are not Emma's parents, just her friends. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

"This is insane," Mary Margaret Nolan complained.

She was sitting at one of the outdoor tables at the town diner, Granny's, with one of her best friends, Emma Swan while they used menus as shields to hide their faces. It was part their effort to track the every move of Emma's longtime boyfriend, Killian Jones. It was almost Christmas and there were any number of Christmas related things that Mary Margaret would much rather be doing. Like baking cookies or going ice skating or building a snowman. But no, she'd been dragged into this crazy reconnaissance mission. One that involved following Killian all throughout Storybrooke.

Something strange was going on, Emma had said when she'd recruited Mary Margaret. Killian was the Captain of a fishing boat, but after weeks of bad fishing had decided to end his fishing season early. He'd been struggling to break even fishing and it didn't seem worth it to keep working so hard for no profit. So he'd decided to end the season early and give his crew a nice long break for Christmas. That wasn't what Emma found strange.

No, what was strange was that Killian usually had a lot of free time when his fishing season ended. Not so this year. No, this year it seemed as if was just as busy as he'd been during the season. Perhaps even more so. Whenever Emma tried asking him what he was up to, he changed the subject. Every single time. The most she'd gotten out of him was a vague comment that he was busy.  _Thank you, Captain Obvious_ , Emma thought.

Busy doing what? That's what Emma was dying to know. As Sheriff of Storybrooke she was used to leading investigations and figuring out the truth. Used to solving mysteries and she was determined to solve this one. Especially after trying her luck at asking her friend and deputy David Nolan, Mary Margaret's husband, if he knew anything about what was going on with Killian. A brief look of something resembling panic had appeared on David's face before he quickly answered by saying that Killian was just busy, that's all.

Busy. That seemed to be the word of the Christmas season. David knew something. That was perfectly clear. How did Emma know? David had deliberately avoided making eye contact with Emma had said it. In Emma's experience, there were mainly two kinds of people who avoided eye contact. Those who suffered from social anxiety and those who were hiding something. And David certainly didn't suffer from social anxiety. He also happened to be one of Killian's best friends, right after Emma. Whatever was going on with Killian, David knew. Emma would bet money on it.

But he wasn't talking. Leaving Emma with no choice but to enlist Mary Margaret on this mission. She would get to the bottom of this. They'd started out their morning by meeting at practically the crack of dawn to hide out on the docks near Killian's ship, the Jolly Roger. They'd waited in the cold for what had felt like forever until Killian had emerged. They'd waited until he'd gotten a safe distance away and then began tailing him. Leading them to Granny's where they had been freezing ever since watching Killian go inside.

"I have to know what he's up to," Emma Swan protested, shooting her friend a look.

"So you've decided that stalking him was the way to go," Mary Margaret said.

"We're not stalking him!" Emma argued. "Not exactly."

"Emma, we are literally following his every move. If this isn't stalking, what do you call it?" Mary Margaret asked.

"It's...we're...okay, we're stalking him! But it's for a good reason. I have to know what's going on," Emma said.

"I'm freezing," Mary Margaret complained. "That's what's going on."

"With you, maybe," Emma said. "I have to know what's keeping Killian so busy. What's he doing?"

"At the moment I'd say he's probably enjoying a nice hot coffee inside Granny's," Mary Margaret suggested.

"Yeah, but he hasn't been spending all his free time here. So where has he been? What has he been up to? Who is he seeing?" Emma asked.

"Okay, hold on," Mary Margaret frowned. "Who he's seeing? Emma, you don't think he's cheating on you, do you?"

"No," Emma answered.

"No?" Mary Margaret asked.

"The thought did cross my mind, given my history," Emma admitted. Several of the men she'd dated had cheated on her causing her to build walls around her heart in an effort to protect herself. She hadn't made it easy for Killian when he'd first expressed an interest in becoming more than friends. She'd kept him at arms length, too scared to let him get too close lest she give him an opportunity to hurt her. Her heart had been broken too many times already.

And yet somehow Killian had managed to break through her defenses. He'd proven himself to be a loyal man, steadfast and true. When Killian loved someone, he did so with everything he was. He had never given Emma a reason to doubt his faithfulness to her. Not until he'd started acting so strangely. Cheating had indeed crossed her mind.

But upon further thought, she'd dismissed the idea. There were some things Emma knew deep down in her bones to be true and among them was the knowledge Killian was a great many things, but a cheater was not one of them. She said as much to Mary Margaret.

"Good," Mary Margaret smiled at her. "I was about to say. He's crazy about you."

"Yeah, well," Emma said, flushing a bit. "That may be true, but he is keeping something from me. And we're going to find out what."

* * *

"Are they still out there?" Killian asked, taking a leisurely sip of his coffee while David peered out the window.

"Yep," David nodded, grinning. "They've gotta be freezing out there! Though I do think it's cute that they're so devoted to their mission."

"Indeed," Killian nodded. "You should have seen them trying to hide behind a stack of crates on the docks by my ship. I should have grabbed my camera."

"You do realize that they're going to follow you around all day, right?" David asked.

"I don't mind," Killian shrugged. "I can think of worse things than having a couple of beautiful lasses following me around all day."

"You know you could just tell Emma what you've been up to," David pointed out.

"Aye, but where's the fun in that?" It was Killian's turn to grin as he snuck a glance out the window. He lifted his coffee cup in their direction in salute. "And now if you'll excuse me, I must get going. I'm due at the library."

* * *

"Killian's coming!" Mary Margaret hissed, peeking out from behind her menu. "Oh!" She ducked back behind the menu as Killian stopped, looking this way and that suspiciously. "Don't move," she whispered to Emma.

Killian chuckled to himself as he watched Emma and Mary Margaret out of the corner of his eye. To think that they thought they were being inconspicious. For heaven's sake, they were in broad daylight and hunched behind a pair of diner menus. He shook his head, grinning as he went on the way.

"The suspect is on the move," Mary Margaret muttered. "What?" she asked, noting the look of amusement on Emma's face.

"I thought you thought this whole thing was stupid," Emma said.

"Yeah, well, you haven't given me any choice," Mary Margaret shot back. "So I may have well have some fun with it. Now are we going to follow him or what?"

"Let's go," Emma said. They got up and headed out of the outdoor seating area, quickly looking around before spotting Killian walking further down the sidewalk. "Let's go." They followed him down the sidewalk, occassionally ducking behind buildings or trashcans whenever Killian would stop for whatever reason. Finally they came to the library and watched him go inside.

"He's going into the library!" Emma said.

"The library?!" Mary Margaret exclaimed in mock horror. "My God, he could be spending all his time." She paused for dramatic effect. "Reading! Oh, say it isn't so, Killian! Say it isn't so."

"Are you done?" Emma asked, though her lips twitched at her friend's dramatics.

"Sorry," Mary Margaret said with a sheepish grin. "Should we go in?"

"Absolutely," Emma nodded. They headed into the library, where Mary Margaret suggested that they split up, offering to take the kid's section. Emma gave her another nod and headed in the opposite direction.

Mary Margaret watched her friend walk away and then walked over to the kid's section where she found Killian. "Ah, so you've decided to reveal yourself, I see?" Killian said, smirking at her. "And what of my lovely girlfriend?"

"I told her I'd take this section," Mary Margaret told him.

"Does she suspect anything?" Killian asked.

"Only that you're up to something," Mary Margaret answered. "She has no idea what. So can I see it?" she asked, looking up at him with a look of excitement on her face.

"I haven't gotten a chance to pick it up yet," Killian answered, amused when her face fell. "You should know that seeing as how you've been following me around."

"And freezing to death, I'll point out," Mary Margaret said. "She's determined to figure this out. You know how she gets."

"That I do, lass. That I do," he agreed. "That's one of the reasons why I love her."

"Aw," Mary Margaret beamed at him. "You two are so sweet. You're going to make her so happy."

"That's the plan, yes," he said.

* * *

Emma, meanwhile, was growing increasingly frustrated. Killian was nowhere to be found. The library wasn't that big, so where could he possibly be? Maybe Mary Margaret had had better luck. Emma was just about to head to the kid's section, but stopped when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to find her friend and head librarian Belle French walking towards her with a friendly smile on her face. "Emma, hi!"

"Hey Belle," Emma smiled back. "You haven't seen Killian around by chance, have you?"

"Oh sure," Belle nodded, checking her watch. "Story Time is just about to start."

"Okay," Emma said slowly, giving her an odd look. "And what does that have to do with Killian?"

"You mean you don't know?" Belle asked, seeming surprised. "Killian's been helping out here lately."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked, confused.

"He really didn't tell you?" Belle asked, sounding surprised.

"Didn't tell me what?" Emma wanted to know.

"Emma, Killian's been working here part-time since his fishing season ended," Belle told her.

"He...what?" Emma gaped at her friend. This didn't make any sense.

"I can't believe he didn't tell you," Belle said. "Here, let me show you something." She led them over to the children's section. Along the way there were signs advertising Story Time. They came to the end of the bookshelves to find a group of children sitting on the floor. And there in the Storyteller chair sat Killian. Reading them  _The Polar Express_. Emma's jaw dropped.

"Our regular story time lady has been recovering from a broken hip," Belle told Emma in a hushed voice. "Killian's been filling in for her."

"Killian's the new story time lady?" Emma asked, shocked.

"He prefers to think of himself as the storytelling pirate, but yes," Belle said with a giggle. "For the time being. Look at him. He's so great at it. The kids just love him." Emma couldn't help smiling as she watched him. His voice was so warm and soothing and the kids in attendance were hanging onto his every word. Mary Margaret came up to them while they were listening.

"I was just about to go find you," Mary Margaret told her, smiling. "So this is what he's been up to. Reading to children. How sweet."

"Yeah..." Emma frowned, turning to walk out of the kid's section. Mary Margaret and Belle exchange a look of confusion before following her.

"What?" Mary Margaret asked as they caught up to her.

"Why wouldn't he tell me about this?" Emma asked. "Why keep it a secret? "

"I don't know why he wouldn't tell you," Belle frowned. "Maybe he's been distracted by all the work he's been doing. I mean, he's been here and then there's the deliveries he's being doing for my father. Maybe he-"

"Deliveries?" Emma interrupted, incredulous. "He's been doing deliveries for your father?" Belle's father, Moe, was the town florist.

"It's only been for the past two weeks," Belle said quickly. "My father twisted his ankle and has been having a hard time getting around. So Killian's been delivering flower arrangements whenever he can. He said he needed the extra money."

"Extra money?" Emma asked. She seemed to grow more confused with each new detail she learned. "What does he need extra money for?" She held up her hand at the look of helpless confusion on Belle's face. "And why didn't he tell me about any of this?"

* * *

Belle let Emma and Mary Margaret hide out behind the front desk when it was coming to the end of Story Time. They waited, listening to Killian say goodbye to Belle and then watching as he left the library. Emma counted to twenty and then motioned for Mary Margaret to leave.

They ended up following Killian to Marco's woodworking shop. Marco was the town repairman and by eavesdropping by the corner, they learned that Killian had helped Marco out a couple of times and was now receiving payment. Emma's brows shot up as she heard Marco praise Killian for all his help. She had no idea that Killian had any skills in woodworking, but then again, she knew that he took care of most of the repairs on his ship himself. And now he'd apparently helped Marco finish a couple of important projects.

Emma listened to the two men wrap up their conversation and watched as Killian walked away. This time leading her and Mary Margaret to  _Game of Thorns_ , Moe French's flower shop. A short while later they watched Killian driving away in the company van.

"Off to make a delivery, I guess," Emma frowned.

"You're not going to make us follow the van, are you?" Mary Margaret asked, wincing at the idea.

"No..." Emma trailed off. "I don't know what to do now? Do we wait here? Or should I just head back to the Jolly to wait for Killian to get back?"

"No!" Mary Margaret replied, quickly. "You don't want to do that."

"Why not?" Emma asked.

"Who knows how long Killian will be out doing deliveries," Mary Margaret pointed out. "You could be waiting there all afternoon."

"Yeah, but," Emma started.

"Why don't we go get something to eat at Granny's?" Mary Margaret suggested. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Yeah, okay. Let's go to Granny's," Emma agreed.

Upon reaching Granny's, Mary Margaret excused herself to go to the restroom. Once she got out of the main dining area, she reached out her phone to call her husband. "Yeah, it's me," she said when he answered. "Are you at the Jolly yet?"

"Yeah, I just got here," David said on the other end of the line. "I'm about to get started. Where are you?"

"At Granny's about to have lunch," Mary Margaret said. "I'll keep Emma busy. You get the boat ready. What time did Killian want Emma there?"

"He said six," David answered.

"Do you know if he got it yet?" Mary Margaret asked.

"He told me that he was going to pick it up while he was out making deliveries," David told her.

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Mary Margaret exclaimed.

"Yeah, yeah, you just keep Emma occupied and make sure she's at the boat by six," David reminded her.

"I will," she assured him. "Love you."

"Love you too," he answered.

* * *

"You really had me going for a while there, you know," Emma said to Mary Margaret some time later. They'd finished lunch at Granny's and after heading back to  _Game of Thorns_  and finding the truck still missing, Mary Margaret had suggested that they head back to her and David's loft.

"We can make some cookies while we watch a Christmas movie," Mary Margaret had said. "Killian will be done with his deliveries by then." It had taken a little more convincing, but Emma had ultimately agreed. They'd done pretty well. Emma now knew that Killian had taken on some additional jobs because he needed the extra money and that was something. It was a start.

Emma would track him down later and find out the rest. Like why did he need the extra money? And why hadn't he told her? She might've been able to help him out.

In the meantime, she was tired of being cold and Mary Margaret had been a good sport putting up with this reconnaisance mission. So why not do something her friend wanted? It was sometime after they'd gotten to Mary Margaret and David's loft that something clicked into place. Why Mary Margaret would agree to something she found so ridiculous.

Now Mary Margaret shot her a wary look. "What are you talking about?"

"You had me thinking that you had no idea what Killian was up to," Emma said, studying her closely. "But that's not true, now is it?"

"What makes you think that?" Mary Margaret asked, avoiding her gaze.

"You knew that Killian would be done with his deliveries by the time we were done watching the movie," Emma said.

"That...I was guessing," Mary Margaret stammered.

"Yeah, so was I." Now Emma grinned at her. "Your reaction just confirmed it. You know what Killian needs the extra money for, don't you?"

"I...that's..." At Emma's pointed stare, Mary Margaret sighed. "Oh alright! I do. But I've only known for a couple of days, I swear."

"I knew it!" Emma exclaimed. "So come on. What's he need the money for?"

"Killian made me promise not to spoil the surprise," Mary Margaret said, firmly. "And I'm not going to. Trust me, you don't want me to."

"Okay," Emma said, thoughtfully. "What can you tell me? Come on, you have to give me something." Mary Margaret sighed again.

"Killian wants you at the Jolly by six," Mary Margaret said. "That's all I'm going to tell you."

"He wants me at the Jolly, eh?" Emma asked. "Does that mean I'm finally going to find out what he's up to?"

"Are you going to help me with these cookies or not?" Mary Margaret replied.

"Okay, fine," Emma agreed. "What do you need me to do?"

* * *

 Emma felt her breath catch in throat as she caught sight of the Jolly Roger. There were strings of lights wrapped around the railings and up the mast. As Emma boarded, she saw that there were lit tealights scattered strategically around the deck. There was soft music playing, though Emma wasn't sure from where.

"Killian?"

"Up here, love." Emma turned to find Killian up on the quarter deck, looking as handsome as ever.

"What's all this?" she asked, waving her hand towards all the lights.

"Part of your surprise, of course," he smiled as he came down to join her. "Tell me, did you have fun following me around today?"

"You knew?" she asked, the look of surprise on her face making him chuckle.

"'Course I knew. You weren't nearly as subtle as you thought you were. It was adorable," he said.

"Yeah, well," she said, flushing. "Are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"Why, I needed some extra money," he answered. "To buy a very special Christmas present."

"You did all of this for a present?" she asked.

"Aye," he nodded. "Your present."

"You...this was all for me?" She gaped at him. "You took on three jobs to buy a present for me?"

"I did," he nodded.

"Let me guess, I'm going to have to wait until Christmas to see this special present," she said.

"That was original plan, yes. But I saw how irritated you've been at my being so secretive and decided that perhaps it'd be better to give it to you sooner rather than later," he admitted. "Besides, it's only a couple of days early. And I knew that once you talked to Dave about it that you'd be relentless."

"David knows what it is?" she asked.

"That he does," Killian confirmed. "He's also the one who helped decorate my ship while I went to make my purchase."

"Killian..." Emma looked from him to the ship and back again, slowly. "What's going on? I mean, this is beautiful and all, it really is. But..."

" _You_  are beautiful," he corrected her, making her roll her eyes even as she smiled. "And  _this_ ," he held up a small gift bag, "is for you."

"All this work for something so small," she said, shaking her head at him as she took it.

"Just take a look," he said, looking uncharacteristically nervous now.

"Okay, let's see what was so important you needed extra money for." Emma's breath caught in her throat as she peered into the bag and back him, her jaw hung slightly open. "Killian," she whispered. She reached into the bag and pulled out a ring box, letting the bag fall to the deck.

"Open it," he said, his voice thick. Emma took a steadying breath and slowly opened the box to find one of the most beautiful diamond rings she had ever seen nestled inside.

"My darling Emma," Killian began. "Loving you comes as naturally to me as breathing. I feel like that is the reason why I was put on this earth. To love you. I was put here to cherish you and to protect you. And to ensure that you would never be alone ever again for, if you'll have me, I promise to spend forever by your side."

Killian kept his shining eyes on hers as he slowly dropped to one knee. "Emma Swan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife? Will you marry me?"

"Yes, Killian," she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks as she sank to her knees. "Yes!" Killian's face lit up with one of the most radiant smiles she had ever seen as he slipped the ring on her finger. She flung her arms around him as soon as it was in place, pressing her lips to his in a tender kiss.

It was going to be a very Merry Christmas.


	2. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt was a city girl/boy returns to their small town after being away. This is another AU. In this one Emma and Killian became friends when they were five years old. This will showcase different little milestones and moments from their relationship. Up to the when Emma decides to want to go to school in New York. That changes everything. But as the years pass, Emma comes to realize that New York has never quite felt like home. In this story, Emma and David are siblings and his mom, Ruth, is their aunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one shot kind of took on a life of its own. I almost feel like I could have made it into a multi-chaptered story, but tried to make it work as a one shot. So it'll feel more like glimpses than fleshed out moments from their relationship.

Emma Nolan was five years old when she first met Killian Jones. She'd been hiding under the big slide on the playground, upset. She'd wanted to go on one of the swings and one of the older kids, a bully named Peter, shoved her off of it. Killian had followed Emma, having witnessed the incident. He was new to the school and to the country in general, his family having recently moved there from England. He'd been somewhat fascinated by the quiet blonde girl who mostly kept to herself. There was something about her that made him want to be her friend.  
  
So when he saw that jerk Peter push her, he decided to go see if she was okay. Killian didn't know if she would want to be friends with him or not, but he had a secret weapon up his sleeve. A sandwich bag full of goldfish crackers. His favorite. And so he'd followed her to the slide and offered her some crackers.   
  
From that moment on, they were friends. Bonded over a dislike of other kids and an appreciation for goldfish crackers.

* * *

When Killian Jones was ten years old, he got his first fat lip. The evil Peter from five years ago had taken his torment of Emma to the next level. He'd been a general jerk to both Emma and Killian for the last five years and they'd learned how to put up with him for the most part.  
  
Until that fateful day. Peter made fun of the fact that Emma was an orphan, her parents having been killed in a car accident when she was a baby. She and her older brother David had been raised by their aunt, Ruth Nolan. Peter taunted Emma about it, a cruel sneer on his face as he had the audacity to joke about her not having parents. Emma had become one of the toughest kids Killian knew, but Peter had found her weak spot. Killian took one look at the tears streaming down his best friend's face and promptly punched Peter right in the nose.   
  
The resulting fight had given Killian said fat lip. Peter had gotten lucky with that punch, Killian thought bitterly. It hurt though. He'd never been punched in the mouth and couldn't say he cared for it. But then he saw the look of awe on Emma's face and he knew that he would do it all over again. No one hurt Emma on Killian's watch. No one.

* * *

Emma and Killian were fourteen the first time they kissed. It'd all started when they watched Emma's older brother, David, kiss his girlfriend, Mary Margaret Blanchard, goodbye. Suddenly intrigued, Killian asked Emma if she'd kissed anyone yet. Emma asked what was it to him and Killian took that as a no.  
  
He was correct. Emma had never kissed anyone. When she asked him if _he'd_ ever kissed anyone, he said that he was Killian Jones. Of course he had. Emma called his bluff; she didn't think that he'd kissed anyone either.   
  
He hadn't. She admitted to being nervous about her first kiss. He said that they might as well just kiss each other and get it over with. Emma took one look at him, all arms and legs at that point, and burst into laughter. Leading Killian to ask just what was so bloody funny about that idea.  
  
Emma got a hold of herself, recognizing the faint look of hurt in his eyes. She then told him that she'd never thought of kissing him, is all. To which Killian declared that maybe she was just too chicken to kiss him. He wouldn't blame her if she was. After all, he was Killian Jones.  
  
Seeing as how this was the second time in so many minutes that Killian had made this point, Emma wanted to smack him. She boldly declared that she wasn't chicken. He asked her to prove it. After a moment's consideration, Emma shocked Killian by yanking him halfway off the chair he was sitting on and crushing her lips against his.   
  
She'd surprised herself with that one, to be honest. The kiss was brief, neither one of them really knowing what they were doing. But it was enough to cause Killian's ears to turn a furious shade of red. "That was..." he stammered, floored.  
  
"A one time thing," she smirked at him. "Told you I wasn't chicken."  
  
That was the moment that Killian decided that it would most certainly not be a one time thing.  
  
It wasn't. 

* * *

Emma and Killian were sixteen when they moved from just being best friends to being girlfriend and boyfriend. They'd danced around each other for the last two years, ever since that first kiss had changed everything. And then the day had come. Emma's sixteenth birthday.   
  
Emma's sweet sixteen party was a relatively small affair with the only people in attendance being Killian, her aunt Ruth, David, Mary Margaret and a handful of other friends from school. Before blowing out the candles on her birthday cake, Emma looked over at Killian in longing. He wasn't all arms and legs anymore. The last two years had been very good to Killian.  
  
By then, she'd admitted to herself that her feelings for him went beyond friendship. A part of her insisted that she was too old for birthday wishes, but the rest of her told that that part to shut up.   
  
When Emma blew out the candles on her birthday cake, she wished that things would change between her and Killian. That he might see her as more than his best friend. Not that she needed a wish for that.  
  
When Killian was about to leave, Emma's heart sank when he gave her a mere hug as a goodbye. She wanted more than a hug. But then it happened. Killian had made it halfway down her driveway before stopping. Emma's heart now seemed to stop as he slowly turned around and walked back to her, framing her face in his hands before leaning in to give her a sweet kiss. 

* * *

Killian was eighteen when he decided that he wanted to be the captain of a fishing boat like his older brother Liam was. Killian had been working on the docks in some capacity for the past three years. He loved the water and he loved sailing. He couldn't think of anything better than being able to make his living out on the sea.   
  
He had everything all planned out. He would work towards getting his captain's license while Emma went to the local college. And then when the time was right, they would get married. Killian had always been so sure of his feelings in regards to Emma. He'd known he'd wanted to be her friend back when he was five and now he knew that he wanted to be her husband someday. He wanted to raise a family with her and grow old with her by his side. He could see it all so clearly.  
  
What he hadn't seen was Emma deciding to go to college up in New York. She wanted to see the city, wanted to see what life had to offer outside of their small town. Killian had been devastated when she'd told him she'd gotten in, but determined to make it work. If anyone could make a long distance relationship work, it was the two of them.  
  
The night before she was set to leave, she'd snuck him up to her bedroom and had cried over the thought of leaving him. And wouldn't he think about coming with her? He said no. At the moment, his future was right there in Storybrooke. She didn't want to lose him, she said. He said that she would never lose him before kissing her. One kiss had led to another and before long they fell into her bed.   
  
It wasn't their first time. That had happened months ago. But this time seemed different somehow. More urgent and desperate. Afterwards, Emma fell asleep to Killian whispering sweet nothings into her ear. Promising her that they would make it work. They would be just fine. 

* * *

Emma and Killian were twenty years old when they finally called it quits. Emma loved living in New York City. She'd gotten an entry level job at an advertising company and looked forward to working her way up the ladder. Whereas Killian was perfectly content with living a simple life in Maine. He'd gotten his captain's license and was the proud owner of a beautiful ship. The Jolly Roger. It was exactly the kind of ship that he'd always dreamed of having. He had no interest in living in New York City.  
  
And Emma had no interest in moving back to Maine.   
  
That, combined with the fact that they'd barely seen each other over the past two years, had doomed their relationship. But it wasn't without heartbreak. They hadn't stopped loving each other. They just couldn't go on the way they were. So they ended it.

* * *

Emma was twenty-three when her brother David had called to tell her that he and Mary Margaret were getting married. On Christmas day. Finally. Emma had no idea why they'd waited so long when they'd been together since they were teenagers. It was the first time she'd been back in Storybrooke since her and Killian had broken up.   
  
She'd known that she had to stay away. She knew that seeing Killian would only cause her to second guess her decision to live in New York. For as much as she tried to pretend otherwise, the fact remained that she was still in love with him.   
  
Oh, she'd dated other men over the past three years. Had liked a couple of them well enough, but none of them could make her feel the way Killian did. What's more, Killian may have only been her boyfriend for four years, but he'd been her best friend since she was five years old. He'd been her first friend. Sometimes she didn't know who she missed more. Killian, her boyfriend. Or Killian, her best friend.   
  
The truth was that she just missed Killian, period. She'd thrown herself into her work, hoping it would dull the ever constant longing for him. If she could focus on her work and stay away from Storybrooke, everything would be fine. David and Mary Margaret could always visit and they had. Aunt Ruth had even come up a couple of times. She talked with all of them on a regular basis.   
  
But when David called to tell her that he'd finally taken the plunge and asked Mary Margaret to marry him, Emma knew that there was no way that she could miss her brother's wedding. Especially not after Mary Margaret had asked her to be her maid of honor.  
  
And to Emma's horror, David had asked Killian to be his best man. In Emma's absence, David had taken her place as Killian's best friend. They'd pretty much always been friends, but their friendship had apparently strengthened. To the point where David thought of Killian as his brother.  
  
Seeing Killian again had been like a punch straight to the gut. She'd hoped that he may have changed some over the last three years. That maybe he would have put on some weight or finally lost the accent that he'd never been able to lose as long as Emma had known him. That he wouldn't still be the same gorgeous young man that she'd left behind.   
  
Only to discover that Killian had only grown more attractive in the last three years. When Emma had seen him for the first time, she'd realized that Killian would be one of those men who would just continue to get more good looking as he aged. He would be a silver fox when it came time.  
  
And his accent, that damn accent that made her weak in the knees, hadn't faded at all. She knew that there were those who never lost their accents and she'd so hoped that Killian wouldn't be one of them. So of course had had been. His accent had still made her weak in the knees.  
  
Seeing him had been so awkward and so painful and yet so wonderful all at the same time. They'd quickly agreed to call a truce, to put any of their lingering feelings for each other aside as well as they could. After all, they both loved David and Mary Margaret and wanted them to have a nice wedding. The last thing they wanted to do was let their own unresolved issues mess everything up.  
  
And had pulled it off, shockingly enough. Oh, it'd still been pretty awkward at times, but they'd found a way to get along. Everything had gone fine. Mostly fine.   
  
Up until the wedding reception, which had been held at the barn by the farmhouse where Emma and David had grown up with their Aunt Ruth. They'd both had a little too much to drink. At one point, the sight of Killian flirting with a gorgeous little brunette had sent Emma over the edge. She had drunkenly asked him what the hell he was doing before throwing what was left of her drink in his face and storming across the field and into the house.  
  
Only to have him come barging in after her. The ensuing argument hadn't been pretty. Killian, yelling at her for turning her back on everything they had. Emma, screaming at him for not having the guts to go with her to New York. At one point she'd gotten right in his face, asking him why he'd let her go so easily. He'd argued that she'd made it pretty clear that she didn't want him. She'd responded by admitting that yes, she had still wanted him and that she'd never stopped.  
  
It was something she never would have said if she'd been sober. There'd been a long pause where they'd just stared at each other, the air suddenly crackling with sexual tension. It was hard to say which one made the first move. One second they'd been glaring at each other and the next they'd been kissing.   
  
Ultimately, they'd ended up heading up the stairs to Emma's old bedroom, stopping every so often on the way when one would shove the other against the wall to kiss. They'd just barely made it into her old bedroom. They'd shared a night of hot sex and then Emma had woken up in his arms. And it had felt so good, so impossibly good. So good that Emma had feared that if he woke up and asked her to say, she might just do it.  
  
So she'd slipped out of bed, quietly gathered up all her things and left. Had headed straight to her car to begin the drive back to New York.  
  
What Emma didn't know was that Killian had woken up while she was packing. Had kept his eyes closed to make her think that he was still asleep.  
  
And had stood by the window and watched as she drove away.

* * *

Emma felt her heart begin to race as she passed the sign welcoming her to Storybrooke, Maine. She was now twenty-eight years old. It had been five years since she'd last been in Maine. Five years since her brother and Mary Margaret had gotten married.  
  
Five years since she'd had sex with Killian and left the next morning. Like a damn coward.  
  
She'd managed to stay away for five whole years. And this time she was coming back to stay. She was still having a hard time believing it.   
  
It had all started when Mary Margaret called to ask if Emma would please think about coming home for Christmas. It'd been a while since they'd all been together and they missed her. In truth, Emma had been missing them too. Especially since things in New York weren't so great.   
  
That was the understatement of the year. Things in New York sucked.   
  
She'd made the mistake of getting involved with a guy named Walsh at the advertising agency where she'd worked. Everything had been going fine. Okay, so maybe she and Walsh didn't have the kind of burning passion that Emma had shared with Killian. Maybe she found Walsh a little dull at times. Maybe he didn't make her laugh the way Killian used to. So what? Walsh was a good man and Emma cared about him.  
  
Fine didn't mean bad. That's what she'd told Mary Margaret when her sister-in-law had asked her how things were going with Walsh. "You don't sound fine," Mary Margaret had commented. Emma had brushed it off.   
  
In hindsight, Emma should have realized that her relationship with Walsh had changed once it was revealed that they were up for the same promotion at work. A promotion that Emma had deserved.   
  
A promotion that had ultimately gone to Walsh.  
  
Emma had tried to be happy for him. She really had. But losing that promotion had, frankly, pissed her off. Walsh was good at his job. Emma wasn't going to argue that he wasn't. She was just better and everyone knew it. Everyone including Walsh. Not that he was willing to admit it.   
  
They'd soon started to resent each other. The last couple of months had been full of heated arguments. Except unlike that fight she'd had with Killian at her brother's wedding reception, her fights with Walsh never exploded into a night of passion. Emma had given it a shot once. She'd grabbed Walsh and kissed him right in the middle of the argument they were having at the time. Had Walsh kissed her back?  
  
Nope. Walsh had pushed her away. Not hard, not in an effort to try to harm her, but even still. He had pushed her away, asking her if she'd lost her mind. They were in the middle of a discussion, for heaven's sake. He'd actually said that.   
  
The arguments with Walsh might have been easier to tolerate if she'd been able to get some good sex out of them. No such luck. She began to wonder if she even liked Walsh. Or had she just been killing time with him. The answer to that was made clear when he'd made a crack about her being an orphan one night.  
  
He'd apologized right away, saying that he didn't know why he'd said it. But the damage had been done. Even during the horrible fights she'd had with Killian when they'd broken up and at the wedding reception, _he_ never made light of the fact that she was an orphan. As furious as he may have gotten, he had never used that to hurt her.   
  
Walsh bringing her status as an orphan into their argument had been the last straw. She'd promptly kicked him to the curb. Given that he was now technically her boss, this had made things at work awkward. To say the least.   
  
Suddenly, her life in New York didn't seem so great. She found herself thinking about Storybrooke more often. She missed it. That small little town where she'd experienced so many of her firsts. A town where everyone knew each other; she only knew a couple of her neighbors in New York. She missed the sense of community that she'd never quite found in the city.

She missed seeing her brother and Mary Margaret. She missed Aunt Ruth. Plus, Mary Margaret had given birth to her and David's first child three years ago. A baby boy that they had named Leo, after Mary Margaret's father. Emma had an adorable little nephew that she rarely got to see. As much as she'd once loved the city, there was a part of her that knew that it wasn't her home. Not completely. She'd left her heart back in Storybrooke so many years before. She wasn't just thinking about her family either.

The fiasco that had been her relationship with Walsh had only made Emma realize how much she missed Killian. There was still that part of her that had never stopped missing him. That had never stopped loving him. She just used to be better at ignoring it. That was no longer the case. Everything she did seemed to remind her of Killian in one way or another.  
  
One morning she woke up and decided that she'd been away from home long enough. The first thing she did was call Mary Margaret and ask if she would be okay with Emma living with them while she looked for a place to live. And oh yeah, she would be there for Christmas.  
  
Mary Margaret's answering squeal of excitement had been so loud that Emma had actually dropped her phone. Later, she would learn that David had come running into the room with his face still half covered in shaving cream at his wife's cry. While Leo had heard his mother's squeal and promptly began imitating it. Repeatedly. Leading Aunt Ruth to come up demanding to know what in heaven's name was going on. She'd heard the ruckus from downstairs.   
  
Emma had practically been in tears from laughing when she picked her phone back up. It had been utter chaos for a while there at the Nolan house.   
  
She'd still been chuckling when she'd left the house to head to work for the last time. To quit. Walsh had followed her out of the office, urging her not to be so rash and petty. Emma responded by kindly he could take his opinion and stick it where the sun doesn't shine. She'd then gone back to her apartment and started packing. She was going home. A week before Christmas.

* * *

It had taken Emma a couple of days to work up the nerve to go to speak to Killian. She found the Jolly Roger docked in the same place it had been eight years ago when her and Killian had decided to end their relationship.   
  
Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted Killian emerge from belowdecks. Looking even more handsome that he had five years ago. Just like she'd known he would. "Ahoy! Captain!"   
  
"Emma?" He was clearly stunned. Emma knew that David had told Killian that she was moving back. But she could guess that he'd never imagined that she would come seek him out.  
  
"Permission to come aboard?" Emma asked, keeping one hand behind her back.   
  
"Sure," he said, watching her carefully as she boarded the ship. "David told me you were back."  
  
"I know," she said. "I, uh, would have come sooner, but, well." Emma looked down at the deck, hating how nervous she was all of a sudden. "I wasn't sure if you'd want to see me."  
  
"So what changed?" He asked.  
  
"I missed you," she said, honestly. She watched a series of emotions wash over his face. "Listen, I know that I made a mess of things last time."  
  
"You mean when you left me without so much as a goodbye?" He asked, his voice rough. He cleared his throat. "That was...unkind."  
  
"It was awful," she corrected. "And it was a mistake."  
  
"Was it?" he asked, his brow furrowing.   
  
"Yes," she confirmed. "I got scared. I thought...I thought if I talked to you that I would end up staying."  
  
"So you left," he said.  
  
"I left," she said. "And I'm sorry." He gave her a nod of acknowledgment. "I know we can't just go back to the way things were, but I'd like to try. I thought..." Emma took a moment to steady herself. "Maybe we could go back to the beginning."  
  
"The beginning," Killian repeated.  
  
"The very beginning. So..." Emma began, revealing what she'd kept hidden behind her back. It was an unopened bag of goldfish crackers. "Want some fish?"   
  
For a moment Killian simply stared at the bag, looking from it to Emma. Noticing that her eyes were shining. "That's what I asked you the first time we met," he said finally, a smile slowly spreading across his face at the memory.  
  
"And the rest is history," she said, giving him a weak smile in return. "So they say." Emma chewed on her lip, debating whether she should tell him what was on her mind or not.   
  
"Spit it out, Swan," he said and Emma caught a note of teasing in his voice. One of Emma's favorite stories as a kid was _The Ugly Duckling_. When she'd told Killian that she felt like an ugly duckling, he'd responded by saying that he'd always seen her as a swan. That had been his nickname for her ever since. Swan.  
  
"That day at the playground, do you know what I was thinking?" She asked.  
  
"That Peter was a slimy, uncouth git?" He asked, surprising her into laughing a little.   
  
"Okay, maybe that too," she said, making him grin. The grin faded with what she said next. "I was thinking that I wished I had a friend to play with. And then you showed up. And you became my first friend." Emma shook her head. "You were my _best_ friend."  
  
"Emma," Killian said softly.  
  
"You were my best friend," Emma repeated, her voice wavering. "The guy who would share his goldfish with me and who would punch a bully in the face because he made fun of me for being an orphan. You were my first kiss. You were my first boyfriend. My first time was with you. And I threw it all away. I threw it all away." This was not exactly the way Emma had imagined this playing out in her head, but she hadn't been able to stop herself. "I never should have left," she sniffled.  
  
"No Swan," Killian shook his head. "You had a dream and you followed it. I should have followed you."  
  
"What?" The question came out in a whisper.  
  
"I should have gone with you," he said, quietly. "You were right all those years ago. I let you go far too easily. There's nothing that I regret more."  
  
"So..." Emma managed, struggling to speak over the lump in her throat. "Do you think we can go back?"  
  
"We can try." Killian nodded towards the bag of goldfish. "But best to do it properly. May I?" He held his hand out for the bag and opened it before offering it to her. "Want some fish?"  
  
"Yes," she said. "I would love some."

* * *

"I'm going to get you!" Emma cried as she chased her giggling nephew down the main hallway at the farmhouse. It was Christmas Day, the best that Emma had had since leaving Storybrooke all those years ago. She and Killian had spent a lot of time together over the past couple of days, trying to sort out their differences. They weren't yet back to where they'd once been. That would take more time. But it was a happy beginning.  
  
"Over here, lad!" Killian exclaimed, drawing Leo's attention. Killian, along with his older brother Liam, had spent their last several Christmases with the Nolan family and this year was no different. The rest of Emma's family and Liam were scattered between the family room and the kitchen and now Leo looked up at Killian's dramatic gesture towards the family room. "I'll head her off. Save yourself!"   
  
The toddler tore into the family room, still giggling, and Emma came to a stop before Killian. "You'll head me off, will you?"  
  
"Aye," he nodded, slowly walking her backwards towards the front door. "You're not getting past me, lass."  
  
"Wanna bet?" She asked. "You don't scare me."  
  
"Maybe I don't," he acknowledged. "But that should." He pointed up to the sprig of mistletoe that he had successfully backed Emma underneath. Despite all the time that Emma and Killian had spent together over the last few days, they had not kissed.   
  
"Oh okay, I think I see your plan here," she said, smirking at him.  
  
"Plan? What plan?" he asked, innocently. Far too innocently. "I was just trying to save the poor boy from getting 'got', as it were."  
  
"Sure you were," she said.  
  
"I was, I assure you. It was a stroke of pure luck that got us here," he said.  
  
"Hmm." Emma pursed her lips. "Sounds like something a pirate would say."  
  
"Well, I don't know about that." It was his turn to smirk. "But alas, now that we're here, I suppose we have no choice but to follow tradition. That is unless you're too chicken."  
  
A smile slowly spread across Emma's face in memory of their first kiss. "I'm not a chicken," she told him.  
  
"Oh yeah? Prove it," he challenged.   
  
"Happily." Emma wound her arms around his neck and began to lean in, only to pull back at the last second. "Oh, but Killian?"  
  
"Yes, love?"  
  
"This is not going to be a one time thing," she said, making him grin.  
  
"I should hope not," Killian said, sliding his arms around her waist.  
  
"Merry Christmas, Killian," she said, bringing her lips to his. And just like that she knew. She was finally home. Her home wasn't just Storybrooke itself. It was her family, but most of all? It was Killian. When she was in his arms, she was home.  
  
"Mmm." Killian's smile warmed as they slowly pulled apart. "Merry Christmas, Emma."

 


	3. Princesses and Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: secret prince/princess
> 
> An AU where Killian Jones finds out that his girlfriend is the Princess of Misthaven. He doesn't take it very well. Moderate angst ensues. And then Elsa has to step in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one shot is super long. I think it has to be the longest one shot I've ever posted in my life. I didn't break it up to keep the total chapter count at 12. So know going in, that it's going to be a lot. Proceed at your own risk. :)

It was a beautiful December day in Boston. It had snowed overnight, blanketing the city in pure white snow. When Emma Swan looked out her window that morning, she thought that it looked like something out of a fairytale. She'd hummed to herself as she showered and dressed before heading into the kitchen to make pancakes.   
  
She had just finished the last batch when a knock on the door drew her attention. "Finally," she sighed, heading to the door with a fresh smile on her face. She opened it to find a handsome dark haired man wearing jeans and a blue coat that perfectly matched his incredibly blue eyes.

"Good morning, love," he said, his smile bright and inviting. He was English and his accent made Emma weak in the knees.  
  
Okay, everything about him made her weak in the knees.  
  
"Good morning, handsome," she said, calmly. "May I help you?"  
  
"I certainly hope so. I've the strangest craving for pancakes and I was wondering if you happened to have any," he replied.  
  
"You know what? It just so happens that I do. Just finished making a fresh batch of 'em," she grinned at him, "Looks like it might be your lucky day. Why don't you come in and have some?"  
  
"I would love to. But I must warn you that should I come in there, I might fall desperately in love with you," he said, dramatically.  
  
"I guess that's a risk I'm just going to have to take," she said, gesturing for him to come inside. "Hey babe," her voice softened as she looked up at him.  
  
"Hello, my love," he replied, leaning down to give her a sweet good morning kiss.  
  
The man in question was no stranger; Emma wasn't _that_  friendly. No, the man was Killian Jones, her boyfriend of approximately a year and a half. She'd known him for a little over two years, but it'd taken a little while for her to agree to go out with him.  
  
Her life was...complicated. Getting involved with the wrong man could be disastrous. For her and potentially countless others has well. So while she'd been attracted to him from the moment she'd first laid eyes on him, she'd wanted to take things slow. They'd become friends first and before she knew it, she had fallen head over heels in love with him. The last year and a half had been absolutely wonderful.   
  
"Come on," she said when they pulled apart. "Let's have some pancakes."  
  
They sat at the kitchen table and began to eat, chatting idly about the snow and their plans for the day.  
  
"Do I smell pancakes? I do, don't I? You made pancakes!" Emma looked up at her perky roommate, Anna. She'd met Anna at the coffee shop she frequented here in the city. Emma was quite certain that she'd never come across a happier or more excitable person. Anna was the type of person who could make friends with almost anybody. Her sunny disposition had a way of endearing her to others.  
  
In truth, Emma hadn't been sure what to make of Anna at first, but Anna had won her over. Now she looked at her friend as the little sister she'd never had. She'd later met Anna's sister Elsa and the two of them had become fast friends. When Emma found herself in need of a place to stay after her apartment building had been unexpectedly sold, Anna and Elsa had offered to let her stay with them while she looked for a new place.  
  
That had been roughly nine months ago. Emma had originally planned on finding another apartment, but had liked living with her friends too much to leave them. Anna and Elsa were the only two people who knew Emma's secret. They were the only people in Boston who knew exactly why her life was so complicated and she'd sworn them to secrecy.  
  
"Would you like to join us, Anna?" Killian asked, graciously. He hadn't been sure what to make of Anna when he'd first met her either. But in true Anna fashion, she'd won him over. Killian had become somewhat protective of Anna - not in a way that Emma needed to worry about. No, Killian had more or less assumed the role of surrogate big brother to Anna and looked out for her the way an older brother would. Because she was almost as naive as she was endearing and she needed some looking after. Any guy interested in dating Anna had to be approved by Elsa, Emma and Killian first.   
  
"Yeah, come join us," Emma echoed, gesturing to one of the empty seats as she stood to get Anna a plate and silverware. Thinking ahead, she grabbed a second set for Elsa knowing that their friend would also want some when she joined them. Emma had made enough for the four of them, knowing how much they all liked pancakes.   
  
"I knew there'd be pancakes today," Anna informed them as she sat down. "Last night before I went to sleep? And the snow was starting to fall? I just knew that I would wake up and the city would be covered in snow and there would be pancakes for breakfast. And then when I woke up? What did I smell? Pancakes." Anna smiled happily at her friends. "I love pancakes." This was said to Killian.  
  
"Never would've guessed it, love," he said, a smile on his face as he brought his coffee mug to his lips.  
  
"Today is going to be a wonderful day," Anna declared. "There's snow on the ground. I have all my great friends and my sister and we have pancakes." She seemed to light up even more as she saw her sister approach. "Elsa, we have pancakes!"  
  
"And I'm sure you've been talking everyone's ears off about them too," Elsa said dryly as she took a seat.   
  
"Oh." At this, Anna frowned. "I have been talking too much, haven't I? I'm sorry. It's just that I'm really excited because I know that today is going to be a wonderful day."  
  
"Anna, lass, you are one of a kind," Killian chuckled, getting to his feet. "Elsa, good morning," he added, acknowledging their friend with a nod as he carried his now empty plate and coffee cup to the sink. "As much as I would love to sit here and listen to you lovely ladies talk all day, I have to go to work."  
  
"Aw." This was said by both Emma and Anna in unison.   
  
"That's okay, Killian. We'll manage without you," Elsa assured him.   
  
"I'll walk you out," Emma said, quickly wiping her hands on her jeans.  
  
"See ya later, Killian," Elsa said.  
  
"Bye Killian!" Anna said, giving him an enthusiastic wave. "Have a wonderful day!"  
  
"How could I not? After all, there's snow on the ground and we've had pancakes," he grinned at her. "I'll see you guys later," he added before following Emma to the front door. She waited while he put his coat back on and then walked with him to the elevator, unable to resist slipping her hand in his on the way.   
  
"Do you really have to go?" Emma asked, winding her arms around his neck after he'd pressed the down button. "Wouldn't you rather stay here with me? We could spend the day cuddled up on the couch watching movies."  
  
"There is nothing I would rather do more, my love. Believe me," he said, tugging her a little closer. "I wish I could. But alas, I must go. We're still on for dinner though, aye?"  
  
"Absolutely," Emma agreed, smiling at him before leaning in to give him a lingering kiss. "Love you."  
  
"And I you." Killian gave her another soft peck on the lips just as the elevator doors opened. He stepped inside and turned back to look at her. "I'll see you tonight."  
  
"See you tonight," she echoed. She gave him a small wave as the elevator doors began to close and he'd responded with a wink that sent her heart fluttering. 

* * *

  
Emma sighed as she turned and walked back to her apartment. She grabbed her mug and filled it with more coffee before sitting back down at the table with the two sisters.   
  
"You and Killian are so cute together," Anna smiled at her. "When are you two going to get married?" Emma had just taken a sip of coffee and the question made her choke.   
  
"Never ask someone something like that when they've just taken a sip of a hot beverage," Elsa advised her sister, reaching over to pat Emma at the back as she coughed.  
  
"Sorry!" Anna exclaimed. "Here." She grabbed a napkin and offered it to Emma somewhat sheepishly. "You got some on your sweater. I'm sorry!"  
  
"It's fine," Emma assured her, blotting at her sweater with the napkin. "I just...I'm not...we're not..."  
  
"You love each other," Anna cut in. "You're head over heels, over the moon, totally in love with each other. You should get married and have some pretty babies." Emma made a kind of strangled noise in response to this that Anna ignored as she turned her attention to her sister. "Wouldn't Emma and Killian make the prettiest babies? Her hair, his eyes. Ooh, or the other way around! His hair and her eyes. Ooh, or maybe one of both!" Anna looked back at Emma. "You could have one of both and then have one with your hair and eyes and another one with his!"  
  
"Okay, calm down," Elsa said quickly, noting the way that Emma seemed to look more ill with every word that Anna spoke. "Before you go and give Emma and Killian a busload of children. Emma can't marry Killian right now." Now Elsa leveled her gaze at Emma. "Not until he knows her secret."  
  
"Oh you're right," Anna agreed. "He probably does need to know her secret."  
  
"Probably?" Elsa sounded incredulous. "Uh, we're not talking like she secretly loves an embarrassing TV show. The future of a country is at stake."  
  
"Okay, whoa now," Emma interjected. "No one's getting married. I mean, it's not like we've talked about it."  
  
"Have you thought about it?" Elsa asked.  
  
"Marrying Killian?" Emma asked.  
  
"Yeah," Elsa nodded, keeping her eyes on Emma's. "Have you thought about marrying Killian? Ever?"  
  
"I've thought about it," Emma said carefully.  
  
"And?" Elsa held up her hand before Emma could answer. "Let's pretend that you didn't have this huge, life-changing kind of secret. If you were just a regular girl and everything else about your relationship was exactly the same. Would you want to marry him?"  
  
Emma opened her mouth, about to deny it, but finding that she couldn't. Not with the pointed way Elsa was looking at her.  
  
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I want to marry Killian." Both Emma and Elsa jumped when Anna let out a loud squeal at this.   
  
"Anna!" Elsa exclaimed. "Calm down."  
  
"But she wants to marry him! Oh and I bet he wants to marry you too," Anna said, sounding dreamy at the very idea.  
  
"I don't know about that," Emma muttered. "He's never said anything about marriage."  
  
"Of course he hasn't." Elsa rolled her eyes. "It's Killian, we're talking about here. Knowing him? The reason he hasn't brought it up is probably because he wants you to bring it up first. He wouldn't want you to feel like he was trying to pressure you into taking the next step."  
  
"That does sound like him," Emma admitted with a smile. Killian had let her take the lead in their relationship from the beginning. Oh, he'd made his feelings for her known and had let her know in no uncertain terms that he would win her heart. Someday. But he'd let her set the pace and that was one of the reasons why she loved him.  
  
"I bet he does," Elsa offered. "Want to marry you, I mean. We see the way he looks at you." She smiled at her friend. "Anna's right. He's head over heels, over the moon, totally in love with you."  
  
"Yeah, well." Emma ducked her head, her cheeks flushing. "I feel the same way about him." Though when she looked back up at her friends, her face was solemn. "But the truth is that I do have this huge, life-changing kind of secret." She let out a long sigh. "And I have no idea how he'll react."  
  
"You have to tell him," Elsa said.   
  
"I know," Emma nodded. "I should've told him back when I told you guys, but I couldn't. I didn't want to scare him off, you know? I still don't want to." She looked back and forth between her friends. "It's not just how he'll react to the secret itself that scares me. It's how he'll react when he finds out I kept something so huge from him the entire time we've known each other. What if he thinks our whole relationship was a lie?"  
  
"He won't," Elsa said, gently but firmly. "He knows what you guys have is real. He knew that before you did."  
  
"But how's he ever going to be able to trust me after this?" Emma shot back.   
  
"He loves you," Elsa said simply. "He might not know your secret yet, but he knows _you_."  
  
"He'll be so hurt when he finds out that I kept this from him," Emma said, sadly.

  
"Maybe at first," Elsa acknowleded. "But he'll understand. Maybe not right away, but he will understand. Either way?" She reached out to cover Emma's hand with her own. "You have to tell him."  
  
"I know," Emma sighed. "I was going to tell him tonight. We're going out to dinner at Donatello's. I thought...I don't know, I thought that maybe it'll go down easier if we have a nice meal first?"  
  
" _How_  are you going to tell him?" Anna asked, somber now. 

  
"I don't know," Emma admitted. "How would _you_ tell the guy you're in love with that you're the princess of a small European country he's probably never heard of?"  
  
"Very carefully?" Anna answered, making both Emma and Elsa laugh.  
  
"As matter-of-factly as possible," Elsa offered once she'd stopped laughing. "Maybe remind him how much you love him first and then tell him that there's something very important that you need to tell him. And then, well, tell him."  
  
"Right. I can do this," Emma said with a nod. "I can do this." She looked from Elsa to Anna and back again. "I _can_  do this, right?"

  
"Right." Anna and Elsa answered in unison,  
  
"And if you get nervous just remember the snow and pancakes and think that this is going to be a wonderful dinner," Anna added.  
  
"This is going to be a wonderful dinner," Emma repeated. She made a face. "Well...if nothing else, it'll be a _memorable_  dinner."  
  
To say the least.

* * *

  
"Emma, are you about to throw up?" Anna asked, later on. She glanced at her sister. "Is she about to throw up? Should I grab a bucket?"  
  
"We don't have a bucket," Emma said, absently, before applying another coat of lipstick. "And I'm not going to throw up. I don't think." Killian was due to pick her up for their date at any moment and Emma was standing in front of their bathroom mirror as she finished getting ready.   
  
"Are you sure?" Anna asked. Thankfully, a knock on the door saved Emma from answering. "I'll get it!"  
  
"You're not going to throw up," Elsa assured her friend. "You're going to be fine. It's going to be fine."  
  
"I hope so," Emma said with a sigh. She took a deep breath as she squared her shoulders and headed out to greet Killian.  
  
"You're looking very handsome tonight, Killian," Anna was saying. "And forgiving."  
  
"Forgiving?" Emma watched Killian give Anna an odd look. Her friend had been right. He _did_  look very handsome, dressed all in black the way he was. Plus he'd worn his leather jacket which Emma not so secretly adored.   
  
"Sure! Like you'd be willing to forgive anyone," Anna nodded, her eyes wide. "Especially someone who loves you."  
  
"Anna," Elsa cut in.   
  
"Hi honey," Emma spoke up, drawing Killian's attention to her.   
  
"Swan," he breathed. "You look positively enchanting this evening." Emma had gone with a simple pink dress. One of her, and one of Killian's, favorites.   
  
"You look..." Emma smiled, making a show of looking him over. "You know." She went to grab her coat.  
  
"I do," Killian confirmed, taking her coat from her and motioning for her to turn around so he could help her into it. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Yeah," Emma said, but frowned a moment later. She'd forgotten something.  
  
"Emma, your purse," Elsa said, holding it up in offering. That was it.  
  
"Thanks," Emma said.  
  
"Breathe," Elsa whispered, her last bit of advice for the evening. "Enjoy your dinner, you two."  
  
"Have fun!" Anna called as Emma and Killian headed out the door. "Remember that forgiveness is a virtue!" At this Elsa rolled her eyes before lightly smacking her sister on the shoulder. "Hey!" Anna turned back to her sister. "What'd you hit me for?"  
  
"Forgiveness is a virtue?" Elsa repeated. "Really?"  
  
"It is!" Anna protested, making Elsa close her eyes for a moment. She loved her sister, she truly did, but she didn't know what went on in that girl's brain sometimes.   
  
"How about we order some pizza for dinner?" Elsa said, finally, making Anna let out a gasp of delight.  
  
"I love pizza! There you see?" Anna said as she followed Elsa back to the kitchen. "Pancakes and pizza in the same day? I told you today was going to be wonderful!"  
  
"Yes, you did," Elsa shook her head. "Let's just hope that that wonderfulness extends to Emma and Killian's date."

* * *

  
Emma had stayed mostly quiet throughout dinner, mainly just asking Killian questions about his day. She was going to do it this time. She was going to tell him the truth about her. She'd meant to do it before their meals came, but had chickened out. Then she'd made an idiot out of herself by telling Killian she loved him when he asked if she'd enjoyed her food.  
  
"Delighted to hear that, Swan," he chuckled. "Shall I take that as a yes?"  
  
"Yes," she said. She opened her mouth to tell him, just in time for the waiter to come by to clear their table and ask if they wanted to see the dessert menu. Emma closed her mouth, waiting as Killian told him that they would take a look. Watching the waiter hand Killian said menu and then watching him walk away. Wishing that she could go with him and avoid this conversation.  
  
"Emma?" It was the sound of Killian half singing her name that got her attention. "Ah, you've returned to me."  
  
"What?" she asked, confused.  
  
"I was asking if you wanted to take a look," he said, lifting up the menu. "And you were off in another world."  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, though it was for more than just spacing out. It was for what she had to tell him.  
  
"It's perfectly alright, love," he assured her. From the way he was studying her, Emma had a feeling that he suspected that something was going on. She'd certainly been acting strange enough all evening to make him wonder. "Are you?"  
  
"Alright?" she asked.  
  
"Aye," he nodded.  
  
"Well...actually, no," she said, slowly. "I'm not. Not exactly."  
  
"I figured as much," he said. "Have I upset you in some way? Or is it something else?"  
  
"Oh, baby, it's not you. I promise," she said, reaching across the table to grab his hand and squeeze it. "It's something else."  
  
"Anything I might be able to help with?" he asked.  
  
"Killian," she sighed, gathering up her nerve. "I have something I need to tell you. About me."  
  
"I thought I knew most everything about you," he said, thoughtfully. "But I do enjoy learning more. So what is it? What do you need to tell me about yourself?"  
  
Emma took a deep breath. "I'm a princess."  
  
"You're certainly my princess," he said, lovingly. So much so that it made Emma close her eyes against the resulting sting in her heart.  
  
"No." She shook her head. "There is a small country that borders Luxembourg named Misthaven. It's run by Queen Mary Margaret and her husband, Prince consort David. They're my parents. And my name." Emma took a quick sip of water as her throat suddenly felt as though it was bone dry. "My full name is Emma Ruth Eva Marie, Princess of Misthaven."  
  
There was a long silence while she forced herself to keep her eyes steady on Killian's and moved her now trembling hands to rest on her lap. When she'd first started her mini-speech, Killian had looked amused. When she had told him her full name, something in his expression had changed. She didn't know how to identify the emotion she saw on his face.  
  
This alarmed her. Killian tended to show his emotions on his face and Emma had grown quite adept at reading him. To the point where he'd comment about her knowing him better than he knew himself. The fact that she had absolutely no idea what he was feeling or thinking couldn't have been a good thing.  
  
"You're serious," he said, finally, searching her eyes for answers.  
  
"Yes." Her voice sounded rough to her ears, causing her to take another sip of water to clear her throat before trying to speak again. "I'm serious."  
  
"Alright." Killian rubbed his chin with his fingers. "So either you've lost your mind and I need to get you some form of assistance because you now believe that you're a princess. Or you've not lost your mind at all and really _are_  one."  
  
"I am. Here." Emma grabbed for her purse, which she'd hung on the back of her chair and fished out her cell phone. She'd done a search for Misthaven earlier in preparation. "See for yourself." She offered him her phone, making a point of brushing her fingers against his as he took it. It might seem crazy, but she'd simply needed to touch him. There was nothing in the world that could soothe her as much as his touch could.   
  
Killian hadn't recoiled, so that seemed like something. But his face was still a blank. Emma chewed on her lip as he began looking at the website she'd pulled up. One that included a picture of the royal family of Misthaven. Her family. Killian's brow furrowed, his eyes widening in disbelief as he looked from the image on the screen to Emma and back again. Repeating the circuit more than once.  
  
"Bloody hell," he muttered.   
  
"See? I -" Emma stopped when Killian lifted his hand to stop her before bringing his finger to the phone screen and swiping up, obviously reading the article. The waiter came by to ask if they wanted dessert. "Yeah, dessert would be good. Everything's better with dessert, right?" Emma was evidently channeling Anna at the moment. They could probably use their perky friend right about now.  
  
When Killian didn't respond, still reading, Emma shot the waiter a smile. "Yes, we'll have dessert. I'll have the, um." She glanced at the menu, ignoring the way it shook in her hand. "The zeppole and you like their apple crostata, don't you, babe?" No response. "He'll have the crostata." Emma said.   
  
"Very well," the waiter said, nodding. "I'll bring those out for you."   
  
Emma waited for the waiter to walk away before looking at Killian again. "Oh and, um, I'll get this one. The check, I mean. Seems only fair. I mean, you tell your boyfriend you're a princess, the least you can do is pay for dinner, right?" Emma attempted a light laugh, in an effort to try to break the tension. A laugh that sounded more like a wheezing animal of some sort than a laugh. She took a gulp of her water.  
  
"Emma?"  
  
"Yes?" she asked, hopefully.   
  
"Just let me read," he requested, his voice low. She had no idea what to make of the tone of his voice. Or the look on his face. "Please."  
  
"Okay," she whispered. 

* * *

  
Dessert had been awkward. Emma had nervously nibbled on her zeppole while Killian had read article after article about Misthaven. He didn't touch his crostata, merely sliding it over to her when she asked if he wanted it.   
  
She had eaten all of his dessert and hers. Emma couldn't remember the last time she'd been so nervous. Killian was still a total blank. She'd paid for the meal as promised and then they'd gotten a cab back to her apartment building. He'd still helped her with her coat, which felt like a positive sign. But he seemed to be having a hard time looking her in the eye. That was definitely a bad sign. Eye contact was something that Killian didn't exactly shy away from.   
  
Normally, they'd end up cuddling in the cab on the way home. That was not the case tonight. They sat next to each in silence, their hands inches away from each other. Emma had briefly touched his hand experimentally, just to see what he would do. And he'd moved his hand away.  
  
He hadn't wanted Emma to touch him. When she snuck a look at him, she could see that his jaw was clenched. Bad sign. When she went to pay for the cab, he'd stopped her. He did not help her out of the cab.  
  
Nor did he immediately get back into the cab like she thought he was going to when he bent down to say something to the driver. He'd straightened, turned back to Emma and wordlessly gestured toward her building. Had even opened the door for her.   
  
"I can't take it anymore." Emma had managed to wait until they were both inside. "I'm sorry. I know you haven't exactly wanted to talk, but you're still here and I can't take it." She spun around to face him, her eyes wide. "Please," her voice broke. "I know you must be upset or...or angry or hurt or." Emma lifted her hands in frustration. "Or I don't know what! Please, just say something. Anything."  
  
There was a pause and then, "We've known each other for two years," his voice was somber, "we've been a couple for a year and a half. At no point in this time did you tell me the truth about who you were. I thought I knew everything that I needed to know about you, but it turns out that I didn't even know your name."  
  
"Emma," she said, her eyes stinging with tears. This was not going to go well. "My name is Emma. You know me."  
  
"Do I?" Killian snapped. "Because I had no bloody idea that I was dating royalty." He worked his jaw for a couple of beats. "You told me your father was a shepherd."  
  
"He was!" Emma exclaimed. "My father was a shepherd. My...my mother married a commoner. She wasn't the Queen then, she met my dad back when her father still reigned. While she was still a princess. My dad was just a regular guy before he happened to meet my mom. You know what? I think you'd like my dad. Maybe not at first, he can be pretty protective, but I really think you'd end up liking him. And I think he'd like you. Because you're-"  
  
"I'm just a regular guy like your father was before your mother, the _Queen_  turned him into someone important. I'm common." Killian said common like it was a dirty word. "Just a piddly little commoner."  
  
"That's not what I was going to say!" Emma insisted. "There's nothing wrong with being a commoner!"  
  
"Oh, how very gracious of you to say, _Princess_ ," he said, mockingly. "Or shall I refer to you as 'Your Highness'?"  
  
"Emma," she pleaded. "Call me Emma! Killian, please. I know that you probably feel betrayed and I don't blame you. I don't. This...this is a bombshell I just dropped on you. I get that. I do. But what we have is real. Everything about our relationship is real. You know me. You...you know me better than anyone else does. You know the real me. The me behind the title. And I love you. I love you so, so much. Please."   
  
Emma reached up to hold his face with both hands. "You have to believe me. You have to believe that I'm still the same person I was this morning. Trust me." At this, Killian's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Trust you. You want me to trust you. You're going to stand there and talk about trust after keeping your true identity a secret from me this entire time." He carefully removed her hands from his face. "Did it never occur to you to offer me that same courtesy?"  
  
"I..." Emma's mouth opened and closed a couple of times like a fish.  
  
"It never did, did it?" Killian shook his head, his nostrils flaring and Emma could see the enormous hurt she'd caused in his eyes now. "It never occurred to you that you could trust me with the truth. With your truth. All the while letting me tell you every sordid little detail about my life. About how my mother died when I was a small boy and about how my father abandoned me and my brother a few years later." Now it was Killian's voice that broke.   
  
"I told you about how me and my brother struggled and strived not to end up like another statistic out on the street. I told you about my relationship with Milah, how I fell for a girl who didn't bother to tell me that she had a husband. I told you how it all completely fell apart. How me and Liam ended up moving to the States for a fresh start because of it. I told you _everything_  about my life. Everything!" Killian raised his voice suddenly, making her flinch. "Because I trusted you with all of my secrets. Even the dirty ones. And you couldn't trust me with your real name." He took a step backwards and Emma had the distinct feeling that they may as well be on opposite sides of a canyon now.   
  
"I didn't want to scare you away," she whispered, tearfully. "I wanted you to get to know who I was first. T-to know if we had something real first. I can't just go around telling everyone I'm a princess."  
  
Killian nodded in acknowledgment of this. "Now see, that I can understand. It would be...unwise for you to reveal yourself to everyone you meet," he said, giving her a glimmer of hope.  
  
Emma pounced on it. "That's right! You do understand!"  
  
"I understand why you didn't tell me right away," he corrected her. "What I _don't_  understand is why you waited until now to say something. Why you waited even after you knew of my feelings for you. It's been a year and a half that we've been in a committed relationship, love." Emma usually adored it when Killian called her 'love', but the word felt hollow now. Killian himself seemed hollow now. "A year and a half. And you've known me for even longer."  
  
"Killian, I love you," she sniffled.   
  
"You might." Emma watched a tear roll down his cheek and had to stop herself from reaching up to brush it away. "But you don't trust me."  
  
"Killian...baby, please," she managed.   
  
"You don't trust me," he repeated. "And without trust, well."  
  
"Well, what?" she asked, swiping at the tears on her own cheeks.   
  
"You can't have a relationship without trust, love." This time when Killian called her 'love', it felt more gentle than the previous one had been. Like he truly was sorry for causing her pain. He moved to take her hand, guiding her to the elevator and then pressing the button. "I believe this is goodbye."  
  
"No." Emma's lip quivered. "No, please. We can get through this. Please...Killian, please don't go."  
  
"I do love you," he said, quietly, as the elevator doors opened. "And I will miss you. Very much."  
  
"Killian." She shook her head even as he lead her into the elevator, reaching to press the number for her floor. "Stay with me. We can talk about this." He gave her a sad smile, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand before leaning in and gently kissing her forehead. "Baby, please."   
  
"Goodbye Emma." And then the elevator door closed. And Emma was left all alone.

* * *

  
Anna and Elsa were sitting on their couch watching a movie, a big bowl of popcorn nestled between them, when Elsa's phone buzzed. Frowning, she looked and it and saw that she'd gotten a text message from Killian. Asking her to make sure Emma got in safely.  
  
"Uh oh," Elsa murmurmed, a horrible feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.  
  
"What is it?" Anna asked, glancing at her sister.  
  
"Get out the ice cream," Elsa told her. "I think Emma's going to need it." She got up and hurried out into the hallway. And found Emma crumbled in a heap just outside of the elevator, sobbing. "Emma?" Elsa rushed to her friend, kneeling down beside her and wrapping her arm around Emma's shaking shoulders. "What is it? What happened?"  
  
"He left." Elsa had never heard her friend sound so broken and it broke her own heart. "Killian left."  
  
"Oh Emma," Elsa sighed, sadly. "Let's get you inside and you can tell us all about it. Come on." She helped Emma up to her feet. "It's going to be alright." She guided Emma inside their apartment, closing the door with her foot.  
  
"I got the..." Anna had been about to tell Elsa that she'd gotten the ice cream, but had stopped when she saw Emma. "Oh no. Oh no, oh no, oh no."   
  
"Oh yes," Elsa confirmed, leading Emma to the couch where the sisters sat with her sandwiched between them. They'd needed to calm Emma down a bit first and then the story had come out in bits and pieces.  
  
"It's over," Emma finished, scooping up another spoonful of ice cream. Her eyes were red from her tears.   
  
"It can't be over," Anna pouted, her own eyes full of tears. "It just can't be." She looked at Elsa. "Tell her it's not over."  
  
"Maybe it isn't," Elsa offered. "Maybe Killian just needs some time to process. He did say he loved you. That has to be a good sign. Maybe he just needs a couple of days to think things through. He'll come around."   
  
_He better_ , Elsa thought to herself. Or he would have to deal with her.

* * *

  
Elsa had come to a decision about Killian. One that involved her hands around his throat. It was odd. Elsa wasn't a violent person, she truly wasn't. But it had been quite a week.  
  
One week since Emma had told Killian that she was a princess. Elsa didn't like what their breakup was doing to her friend. It was as if losing Killian had sucked all the color out of her. Emma just seemed like a kind of zombie now. She didn't want to eat. Wouldn't eat if Anna and Elsa didn't make her. Wouldn't do much of anything other than go to work, curl up on the couch looking sad after work and then go to sleep. Elsa supposed that she should be happy that Emma was still going to work. It was better than her staying at home moping all the time.   
  
Only trouble was that once Emma got back home, she would immediately change into what had become her uniform at the apartment. A uniform that consisted of pajama pants and one of Killian's shirts that he'd left in Emma's bedroom one of the many times he'd slept over. Elsa would catch Emma burying her nose in the shirt because it still smelled like him. She'd caught her weeping into it more than once. Emma had been stoic more than overtly emotional, but when she cried? She cried hard.   
  
It didn't look like it would get better anytime soon. This afternoon, Emma had had a package delivered and Anna had practically skipped as she'd brought it up. Both sisters had hoped that maybe it was a Christmas present that might cheer her up some.   
  
They were partially right. It _was_  a Christmas present. But it wasn't for Emma. It was Emma had gotten for Killian. Anna and Elsa had watched Emma's face crumble as she opened the box. She told them how Killian had talked about wanting a duster jacket and how much she loved his leather jacket. So Emma had decided to special order a leather duster jacket for him. It seemed like something a rock and roll pirate would wear, she said as she pulled it out. She wasn't wrong. Emma added how she'd thought Killian would look so dashing in it. And then she'd started crying. Again.  
  
That had been the last straw for Elsa. She'd left Emma in Anna's care, trusting that her sister would figure out a way to make Emma feel better. Anna was good at that. Elsa, meanwhile, was going to have herself a little chat with Killian. 

* * *

  
Elsa was all set to launch into her planned tirade as the door to the apartment that Killian shared with his older brother, Liam, opened. Only to find herself looking at the wrong Jones brother. "Oh," Elsa blinked. "Hello Liam."  
  
Her and Liam had gone out for coffee a couple of times and Elsa liked him. She wasn't looking for a relationship per se, but there was something about Liam. "Hello Elsa," he replied, giving her a warm smile. "It's so good to see you. How've you been?"  
  
"I've been doing pretty well. Aside from possibly wanting to murder your brother," she answered honestly, causing his eyebrows to lift in surprise. "And how are you?"  
  
"I've got nothing to complain about. Save for also possibly wanting to murder my brother, but then, that's not so unusual," he said, making her snicker a little. "Especially lately. Am I correct in assuming that this has something to do with Emma?"  
  
"Yeah," Elsa nodded.  
  
"Then by all means, please come in," Liam said, stepping out of the way and ushering her in. "Maybe you can get through to him. If you ask me, he's been acting like a real jackass."  
  
"I heard that." Elsa looked up at the sound of Killian's voice, her eyes narrowing as she spotted him standing in their small kitchen with his arms crossed.  
  
"I meant for you to," Liam informed him. "Because I feel that a man should always know when he's being a jackass. And you are. Is he not?" This was directed to Elsa.  
  
"I think calling him a jackass is being too kind," Elsa said, icily.   
  
"Elsa..." Killian began, but stopped at the glare she sent him.  
  
"Don't you Elsa me," she said. "I could strangle you for what you've done to Emma."  
  
"What I've done? I'm not the one who lied about my identity for two years!" Killian protested.   
  
"Look, I know that it was a shock to find out that she's a princess. I was shocked too, okay? And I don't blame you for being upset," she said, surprising him. "I told her she needed to tell you sooner, but she didn't listen."  
  
"Well thank you," Killian said.  
  
"Hold your applause," Elsa said, making Liam grin. He'd been planning on the two of them working together to talk some sense back into his younger brother, but he had a feeling that Elsa could handle this. And it was going to be fun to watch.   
  
"I understand that you may have needed a couple of days to wrap your head around the situation, but Killian, it's been a week. An entire week and you haven't even had the decency to call. To even try to talk this out," Elsa said, building up steam as she went. "Do you have any idea how much she loves you? How much she misses you? She can't eat, Killian. Me and Anna have to make her. She goes to work like some kind of robot and comes home and puts on one of your shirts because they remind her of you. She cries herself to sleep, Killian. It seems like she's either crying or she's a zombie. There's no in between."  
  
"She cries herself to sleep?" Killian asked, looking surprised.  
  
"Yes, she does, you idiot. Because she is ridiculously in love with you and, dammit, you know it. You know her," Elsa said. "And I thought you loved her."  
  
"I do," Killian said.  
  
"Yeah? Then might I suggest that you stop acting like a horse's butt and make things right?" Elsa asked, making Liam let out a snort.   
  
"I...did you just call me a horse's butt?" Killian asked. "Seriously?"  
  
"I did," Elsa confirmed. She wasn't sure where that had come from, but it felt appropriate. "Maybe I wouldn't call you one if you wouldn't act like one."  
  
"Well, maybe Emma should have trusted me enough to tell me the truth," Killian countered. For a moment Elsa thought that she really would try to strangle him.   
  
"She did trust you! Should she have told you sooner? Absolutely. But Killian, she did trust you. Do you know how many people would go running to the tabloids when they found out they'd been hanging out with royalty? How many people would milk it for their own gain? Emma had no guarantee that you wouldn't do that. But she told you anyway," Elsa pointed out. "She trusted you with her secret. Yes, it took two years, but that doesn't change the fact that she trusted you enough to tell you the truth. Trusts you still, trusts that you won't go to the tabloids even now when you're so upset with her."  
  
"I wouldn't do that to Emma," Killian said.  
  
"I know you wouldn't," Elsa said. "But you would leave her after she told you the truth. Don't you get it?" She shook her head at him. "The reason she waited so long to tell you had nothing to do with whether or not she trusted you. Your relationship would never have lasted this long if she didn't. No, the reason she waited was because she was scared that you would leave her if you knew the truth. And then you did."  
  
"Seems like she had good reason to be afraid," Liam said, quietly. "You know Killian, I have never seen you love anyone the way you love Emma. What you two have together, what you had together, is something that we should all be so lucky to have. Don't just throw it all away. Don't just throw her away. Emma deserves better than that. And so do you."  
  
"The two of you belong together, Killian," Elsa put in.   
  
"What the hell does a princess want with a bloody fisherman anyway?" Killian asked, though his voice broke ever so slightly. "What kind of life can I offer her?"  
  
"And now I suddenly understand," Liam said. "This isn't really about Emma, at all, now is it? It's about Milah."  
  
"Who?" Elsa asked, confused.  
  
"Milah was a woman my brother dated back in England," Liam told her.  
  
"Liam, don't," Killian said.   
  
"Sorry, little brother, I think I must," Liam said.  
  
"Younger brother," Killian corrected, sounding bitter now.  
  
" _Younger_ brother," Liam repeated, rolling his eyes.  
  
"What's the big deal about this Milah person?" Elsa asked, trying to get them back on track.  
  
"Killian thought he was in love with her. Whereas Milah was just trying to get even with her husband," Liam said.  
  
"Her husband?" Elsa asked.  
  
"Oh yes," Liam nodded. "A little detail that she never bothered mentioning to my brother. It wasn't a happy marriage you see."  
  
"I imagine not, if she was cheating," Elsa said.  
  
"Killian tried to convince her to leave her husband and run off with him, but she wouldn't do it. She enjoyed Killian's company, but she was not about to leave a life of luxury for a future with a fisherman."  
  
"Oh." That was all Elsa could say for a couple of beats as she tried to process this. "Well, what does she know anyway? What's wrong with being a fisherman? It's a perfectly fine profession. And besides, Emma doesn't care about that. She knows how much you love being out on the water, even if you're working. That's what matters to her. Well that and you."  
  
"Milah was nothing more than a sad housewife looking for a way to spice up her life," Liam said. "She didn't love you. But Emma? Emma's in love with you, li-...younger brother. She wants to be with you."  
  
"Just think about it, okay?" Elsa asked. Funny, as much as she'd thought about strangling Killian for hurting Emma, she couldn't help feeling sad for him now. "Think about who you might be giving away. I'm not saying that dating royalty doesn't have its own set of unique challenges. Just that Emma's worth it. And you know it."  
  
"I'll think about it," Killian said, after a moment.  
  
"Good. Because I may be Emma's friend first, but I do care about you and want you to be happy." Now Elsa smirked at him. "Even when you act like a horse's butt."  
  
"Thank you," Killian said. "I think."

* * *

  
"Are you sure you don't want to come?" A few more days had passed and Anna and Elsa were heading out to a Christmas Eve party being thrown by one of their friends. They'd been trying to convince Emma to go with them, but had been unsuccessful. They'd thought it couldn't hurt to give it one more shot.  
  
"Nah, I'll be fine," Emma said. She was curled up on their couch with a closed book in her lap. "Really," she added, noting the looks of disbelief on both their faces. "Go enjoy the party."  
  
"Well okay, but call us if you need us," Elsa said.  
  
"I will," Emma assured her. "Say hi to everyone for me." With that the sisters left.  
  
Only for Anna to come rushing back in a second later. "I forgot my purse!"  
  
"Oh," Emma chuckled, watching Anna grab it and dart back out to join Elsa in the hallway.   
  
Only to come right back. "I forgot my phone!" Anna's phone was on the coffee table and Emma grabbed it and handed it to her.  
  
"Anything else?" Emma asked, amused at the look of concentration on Anna's face.  
  
"No, I don't think so," she decided finally. "Are you sure you won't come?"  
  
"Positive. Now go on," Emma said, making a shooing motion with her hands. "Elsa's waiting." She shook her head as Anna left, opening her book to pick up where she'd left off. Only to hear the sound of footsteps a minute later. "Anna, for heaven's sake. What'd you forget now?" She didn't bother looking up from her book.  
  
"It's not Anna," a voice said. His voice. Now Emma did put down her book, very slowly. She turned her head, finding herself holding her breath as she did so. And found Killian standing a couple of feet away from the back of the couch.  
  
"Killian," she breathed, drinking in the sight of him. It took everything she had not to get up and race into his arms.   
  
"I've been informed that I've been acting like a horse's butt," he told her.  
  
"You...what?" Emma asked, brow furrowed.   
  
"Elsa came by my apartment the other day to give me what for. Liam helped," he said, a small smile on his face. "I think my brother might be in love with her now." The smile disappeared. "After some consideration, I've come to the conclusion that Elsa was right."  
  
"Oh?" Emma asked, willing herself not to get her hopes up. Even though the fact that he had shown up had to be a good sign. It just had to.  
  
"I have been acting like a horse butt. I...I didn't handle your news very well," he acknowledged.  
  
"Well, in your defense, I did drop a bombshell on you out of nowhere," she said.  
  
"You did," Killian nodded, looking thoughtful. "But I may have been wrong when I accused you of not trusting me. Elsa made me realize that you did, in fact, trust me enough to tell me the truth. Even though it took a while. You trusted me with your secret. Trusted me not to running off to the tabloids."  
  
"I knew you wouldn't," she said, keeping her eyes on his. She didn't want to give him any reason to doubt her. She had known.  
  
"Except I kind of did," he admitted, wincing a bit. "I told Liam. He kept pestering me to tell him what happened and it just slipped out. I've sworn him to secrecy."  
  
"It's okay," Emma decided. "Liam's your brother and I know you tell him everything. I figured you will would tell him this. It's okay." She watched him for a few moments. "Killian? Why are you here?"  
  
"Because I am completely and desperately in love with you," he said, his voice thick. "It still hurts that you didn't tell me sooner."  
  
"I know," she managed, her heart racing with the knowledge that he hadn't stopped loving her. "And I am sorry." She stood, slowly walking around to the back of the couch and stopping. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. Is...do you think you'll be able to get over it? With time? Or..." Emma trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to finish the question.  
  
"Yes," he said softly. "It's just..."  
  
"Just what?" She asked.  
  
"Bloody hell, Emma, I don't know how to date a princess," he said, making a face. "Or would this be considered courting? I don't know anything about royalty, Emma. Not...not when it comes to things like this. You obviously have an obligation to your country."  
  
"I do," Emma said, carefully. "I'm luckier than some royals, you know. When I told my parents that I wanted to spend some time in America, they agreed to let me come over here. It took some convincing," she admitted. "But they just want me to be happy. I mean, yes, I do have obligations. At some point, I'll have to go back there to live."  
  
"To rule?" Killian asked.  
  
"Someday, yes," Emma nodded. "Hopefully not for a very long time."  
  
"Are you...are you even allowed to be with me? If your parents find out about me am I going to find myself arrested by the Misthaven police force?" He made another face. "Or whatever you have."   
  
"Oh Killian." Emma laughed a little. "My parents already know about you."  
  
"They do?" he asked.  
  
"Remember when I said that I was luckier than most royals? I'm a lot closer to my parents than most royals are to theirs. I tell them things about my life and when things started getting serious between us, I told them about you," she said.  
  
"And?"  
  
"Well, you haven't been arrested, have you?" she asked, only slightly teasingly. "Killian, my dad was a commoner. My mom had to fight her dad to let her marry him, was not going to stop fighting until he gave in. And he did. And they've been happily married ever since. They want me to marry for love." It was Emma's turn to make a funny face. "True love is kind of their thing. They want me to find what they have."  
  
"So can I safely presume that you were not betrothed to some young royal at birth?" he asked. "There's not going to be a prince or a duke or whatever come waltzing in to take you away from me?"  
  
"You watch too many movies," Emma shook her head. "No, Killian. I have not been betrothed to anyone. Don't get me wrong. I've been introduced to potential suitors, but I get to decide who I want to be with. And I choose you. Although you should know that if you decide to give us another shot," Emma's voice broke and she had to take a breath before she could continue. "If there ever comes a day where we decide to get married, well, you would be titled. You would be my prince consort."  
  
"Prince Killian doesn't sound so bad," he declared, making her give him a tentative smile. "Would I get to keep my first name?"  
  
"Of course you would," she said.  
  
"And I suppose I would have obligations of my own then?"  
  
"You would be a part of the royal family," Emma nodded. "Yes, there would be obligations. Nothing you can't handle." Her eyes widened. "But only if you want to! I mean, if we married, you wouldn't have a choice. But that's only if we got married. I mean..."  
  
"I know what you mean," he interrupted, gently.   
  
"I guess the real question is, do you want to be with me? Do you-"   
  
"Yes," he answered, cutting her off again. "Yes, I want to bloody be with you. This time away from you has been killing me. I love you. I just don't know if I deserve you."  
  
"Isn't it up to me to decide what I deserve?" she challenged, sounding every bit the royal he now knew she was. It made Killian's eyes widen when he heard it.  
  
"I definitely don't know how to do that," he said.  
  
"Do what?" she asked.  
  
"Go all royal like that," he said, smiling now. "You went all Princess on me there, Swan. I kind of liked it."  
  
"Oh Killian, I love you," she sighed. "And for the record? I can teach you how to behave in court. How to be a prince. Should we get to that point. Hell, with your accent, you're partway there," she said, her lips quirking. Though she sobered a moment later. "I really missed you."  
  
"I know," he said softly. "I really missed you too, my love. And I do want to try to make this work."  
  
"Well." Emma felt her eyes sting with tears. Killian had come back to her. "In that case, I should tell you something very important about us princesses."  
  
"And what's that?"  
  
"They love being held," she said. "Not by just anyone, mind you. But by the men they love."  
  
"Oh, well then I suppose I better start practicing," he said, finally closing the gap between then and taking her into his arms. "How's this?"  
  
"I do believe that you're a natural," she said. Emma closed her eyes as she hugged him, her grip tight, as she indulged herself by breathing in his scent. "I love you, baby. So, so much."  
  
"I love you too, Princess." The first time Killian had called her that, he'd said it mockingly. This time when he said it, the word was full of love. "My Princess Emma. I must say I like the sound of that."  
  
"Good. Then maybe you'll grant me another princess-y resquest," she said.  
  
"And that request would be?" He asked. Emma pulled back a bit to look into those eyes she'd so missed looking into lately.   
  
"Kiss me," she said.  
  
"What happens to me if I don't?" he asked.  
  
"You sleep with the fishes," she said, seriously. Killian loved the way her eyes sparkled.   
  
"Ah, so you're part princess and part gangster, how terribly fascinating," he said, making her laugh.   
  
"You wanna know what really happens?" She asked. Killian lifted his eyebrows in response. "I kiss you instead."  
  
"I like the first option," he said, kissing her. 

* * *

  
Princess Emma Ruth Eva Marie woke up in the arms of who would become her Prince consort, Killian Jones, that Christmas morning. A smile slowly spread across her face as she felt him snuggle up behind her.   
  
"Merry Christmas, Princess," he murmured, pressing his lips to her bare shoulder. Emma loved the way Killian sounded when he first woke up. His voice sounded so low and rough in the mornings. And so sexy.  
  
"Merry Christmas," Emma replied, trying to get even closer to him. Pressing her hips back against his in the process and making him groan.   
  
"You know, last night was the first time I've made love to you since learning that you were a princess," he said, thoughtfully.  
  
"And?" she asked, curious as to where this was going.  
  
"I could get used to this," he announced, making her laugh as she rolled onto her back.  
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"It feels different now. Me, a commoner, seducing the beautiful princess and in her own bed, no less. There's something deliciously naughty about that," he said. Emma quirked her eyebrow.   
  
"Then maybe you should try doing it again. By order of the Princess," she said, using what Killian now thought of as her royal voice.  
  
"Oh yeah, I can definitely get used to this," he grinned, kissing her laughing mouth. She stopped laughing a few seconds later. If Emma had known this would be the result, it would have given her more reason to tell him the truth earlier. Killian's lips had just found their way to her neck when there was a knock on her bedroom door.  
  
"Hey Emma?" It was Anna. "I know you've been all sad lately and I don't blame you, but I was thinking that we could all use some pancakes."  
  
"Oh sure Anna," Emma called, biting her lip as Killian continued to kiss her neck, apparently unperturbed by this intrusion. "But can you just wait a...oh." Emma's eyes closed briefly in response to Killian's efforts. "A few minutes?"  
  
"Okay! But don't stay in bed all day, okay? I know it's Saturday and you don't have anything to do today, but we should try to do something. And I really, really want pancakes," Anna said. "Then we know it'll be a good day."  
  
"Anna?" It was Killian who called to her this time.  
  
"Killian?!" Anna exclaimed. She'd been the one to let him into their apartment as she'd left it for real. But Emma and Killian had made their way into Emma's bedroom before the sisters had gotten back home. So neither one of them had known that he'd stayed.  
  
"Yes. Now do us a favor and buzz off," he called back. "We're busy."  
  
"Busy? Busy doing...oh," Anna said. "Oh! Good! Does this mean you're back now?"  
  
"I'm back," he called, trying not to get frustrated, though his lips quirked when he heard Anna cheer. "Now scram!"  
  
"Elsa! Killian's back! He stayed!" Emma and Killian heard Anna call excitedly as she walked away.   
  
"Bloody hell," Killian muttered, amused. "I wonder how long we'll have until Anna decides she can't keep waiting for pancakes."  
  
"To hell with the pancakes," Emma replied, dragging his mouth back to hers. 


	4. The Christmastime Charade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: fake significant lover
> 
> Canon divergence/AU. Emma has been dealing with a guy named Marty who just won't take the hint that she's not interested. So she gets Killian to pretend to be her boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I messed with the show timeline a bit. Let's pretend that Zelena got defeated a month or so before Christmas, placing this somewhere near the end of season 3. The events from the season don't really matter, it's more to show where Emma and Killian were in their relationship. In this version, Rumple didn't kill Zelena and Captain Swan never got pulled back in time. Emma decided Storybrooke was her home, but has been confused about her feelings for Killian. That's where we are at the beginning of the one shot.

Emma Swan forced what she hoped was a polite smile on her face. The man she was talking to was named Marty Johansen and Emma had no idea who his fairytale counterpart was supposed to be. Frankly, she didn't care. She'd met Marty when he'd called the Sheriff station because he'd locked his keys in his car and needed help getting them out. Why he should call the station and not, say, the locksmith had been beyond Emma.

At least until she figured out that the reason he'd called the station, and thus her, was because he'd somehow developed a little crush on her. Little might be an understatement. The man seemed totally smitten with her and yet Emma had no memory of ever meeting him. Marty had seen her around town, he'd told her. He was a nice enough guy, she supposed. She just wasn't interested. He'd been so sweet when he'd first asked her out that she'd let him down as gently as she could. There was something about Marty that made her think of a puppy who hadn't grown into its paws yet. It was because of this puppylike quality that she couldn't find it in her heart to be mean to him.

The problem was that he wasn't getting the message that she wasn't interested. Nor was she likely to become interested. Ever. But Marty was proving to be a persistent man. Even when she'd tried to telling him that she flat out that wasn't looking for a relationship right now, he refused to take a hint. Bringing them to the current moment at Granny's. He'd just asked her out for a coffee. "It wouldn't be a date, I mean, we wouldn't have to call it that," Marty said, "It'd just be two people meeting for coffee." He gave her what she assumed he thought was a sexy grin. Bless his heart. Emma had never quite understood that phrase, especially not the way Southerners used it, but she was beginning to. "Of course, there's no telling where that coffee could take us, if you catch my drift."

Oh, she caught it alright. It was with some surprise that she realized that he must have been attempting to borrow some lines out of the Killian Jones handbook. In hindsight, ever since that initial call to the station, Emma  _had_  spotted Marty paying attention to Killian. Again Emma found herself thinking, bless his heart.

It wasn't that Marty was a bad looking man. He wasn't in the least. He was what Emma would consider above average. Light brown hair with kind brown eyes that undoubtedly played into his general puppyesque quality. Was that a word? Emma pursed her lips as she considered it. She'd just decided that puppyesque probably wasn't a real word when she realized that Marty had still been talking. Emma shook her head, trying to focus on what he was saying. Only to immediately tune back out again when her eyes zeroed in on the man playing darts across the room.

Killian Jones. Or if one went with his more colorful moniker, Captain Hook. Right away Emma felt that gut punch of attraction fueled by a healthy amount of lust she always felt when she looked at Killian. It had been a while, alright? That was what Emma told herself. Besides, there was nothing wrong with appreciating an attractive man. All that proved was that she had eyes. It wasn't like she had feelings for Killian.

She didn't think.

Okay, she did have some feelings Killian but damn if she could describe what they were, exactly. They'd been on opposite sides once, fighting against each other and all that. But he'd ultimately proved himself to be a powerful ally. Killian had been instrumental in bringing Henry back from Peter Pan. Of course, he'd tricked Emma and her family first, but he'd come back. Killian had come back. Considering that Emma had lived a lifetime full of people leaving, the notion of one coming back had effectively astonished her.

Not that he'd come back for her. His willingness to help them was more likely to have come from Henry being Neal's son. Emma had learned that at one point, Killian and Neal had spent some time together and Killian had hoped they could be a family. Rescuing Henry must have been an extension of that.

Only Emma couldn't deny that her words had seemed to have an effect on him. It was probably safe to assume that she was a small part of why he'd come back. A miniscule part, even. But a part. And in truth, probably a bigger part than she cared to admit.

Ultimately, it didn't really matter what Killian's reasons had been. His return had given them the way to Neverland and his expertise had proven most valuable. They never would have gotten Henry back without his involvement. And then there was the matter of the kiss. He'd flat out dared her to kiss him without ever actually using the words "I dare you". But she'd been feeling good and assuming that he never imagined that she'd actually do it. So she did it.

She still dreamed about that damn kiss sometimes. Even during the year she'd spent in Henry without their memories of Storybrooke and everyone in it, she'd dreamt about kissing a blue-eyed, leather clad man in the jungle. Never realizing until her memories returned that she'd been dreaming about something that had really happened.

Add that to the list of things that Emma was never going to share with Killian. Not ever. She could imagine the fun he would have with that juicy little tidbit.

Of course, after her memory returned she'd had to deal with the whole being engaged to a man that was really a flying monkey in disguise thing. Just thinking about it made Emma want to take a drink. Add that to the reasons she liked hanging out with Killian. She could always count on him to have some rum he was willing to share.

"Or maybe we could share a bite now?" Marty was saying, as she glanced back at him.

"I don't know..." Emma said slowly, her eyes returning to Killian. An idea was beginning to form in her head and it was a crazy one. Especially given the nature of Killian's feelings about her.

Namely, that he was in love with her. Emma knew he was and that was part of the problem. She'd relied on him so much while they'd worked to defeat the Wicked Witch and there'd been the whole issue of her cursing his lips. The fact that the spell had taken hold had proved that Killian loved her. Emma had known it even before she'd asked Regina if that was the case.

Now the Wicked Witch had been defeated and Emma had come around to the idea that Storybrooke was her home. This is where she was going to stay. With her family. And Killian. Because she couldn't deny that somehow, some way, Killian had become a vital part of her life. She just hadn't been able to determine how exactly she wanted him to fit into it.

Which is precisely what made this new idea all the more dangerous.

"I mean, you haven't ordered anything yet and neither have I," Marty said. "So...why not?"

And that right there was the reason she knew she had to give her crazy new idea a shot. Marty was clearly not going to give up and she still couldn't bring herself to break his heart.

"Actually, you know what? I need to use the ladies room," Emma said, completely sidestepping his question.

"Oh go on," he said. "I'll be waiting."

 _I bet you will be_ , Emma thought as she squared her shoulders and headed across the room. To Killian.

* * *

Killian was annoyed and frustrated. It had been a month since they'd manged to defeat Zelena. At the time, he'd thought that maybe now with the witch out of the way, he could make some real progress with Emma.

He hadn't gotten anywhere.

Not entirely true, he reminded himself. Emma had accepted his friendship. He'd worried that she'd stop wanting to be around him as much once the Wicked Witch had been defeated, but that hadn't been the case. They still spent a fair amount of time together, doing relatively normal things like watch movies and whatnot. They had become good friends.

Which could definitely be a good start towards building something more. Or he might never get her to see him as anything else. What's more was that they were now approaching what people in this land called Christmas. Killian was familiar with Christmas, in theory. He'd never actually celebrated the holiday and found aspects of it confusing. He'd been flabbergasted the first time he'd watched someone carry a tree into their place of residence. Baffled, when he started seeing all the decorations being put up around town. Storybrooke was positively full of them. Lights, that could be either one solid color or an array of colors had been placed on many of the bushes and around windows and roofs. The street lights had all been given bows and wrapped in garlands. There were a number of reindeer and snowmen placed all around, along with other strange figurines. Strange to him anyway. Apparently not for anyone else.

Killian had succeeded in making a complete imbecile of himself a couple of weeks ago when he'd drawn his sword at what was apparently something called a dancing Santa Claus. He may have called it a vile festive demon in the process. In his defense, he'd been walking down the street minding his own business when what he had assumed was a regular statue had started dancing out of seemingly nowhere. Killian had believed the town had been the target of some sort of strange invasion and had decided he needed to do something about it. It'd been after he'd gotten his sword drawn and about to behead the creature when he realized that it was, in fact, a Christmas decoration.

He'd been the victim of a great many snickers and giggles after that. Of course, there'd been witnesses. When he'd told Emma about his harrowing tale with the dancing Claus, she'd laughed so hard she had tears in her eyes by the time she'd finally gotten a hold of herself. She'd give anything for video, she'd said. Killian imagined that it must have been hard to get the words out between all of her guffaws.

He'd been most put out at being the source of such amusement, given that it was from him acting like an idiot as opposed to in response to one of his clever remarks. His sense of humor was woefully underappreciated in this land, in his opinion. That said, he couldn't deny that the sound of Emma Swan's laugh was purely delightful. Perhaps it was that she hardly did it. He had never heard her laugh like that before, hadn't realized that such merriment existed inside her just waiting for an excuse to be let out. He'd promised himself to try to figure out other ways to bring it out. Ones that didn't involve him acting like a buffoon.

Though fate or God or whatever one wanted to call it had decided to even the score a bit when Killian had raised his eyebrow to silently inquire if she was finished laughing at him. For reasons he couldn't begin to fathom, this had set her giggling again. Of all the things. Killian hadn't known whether to be amused or offended that his eyebrows had caused such a reaction. But before he could ponder it any further, Emma had done what he'd believed to be the unthinkable.

She'd snorted. Killian had thought he'd been hearing things and the lass may have gotten away with it if she hadn't instantly clamped her hand over her mouth in horror, her cheeks flushing to a most becoming shade of pink. "I did not just do that," she'd tried to tell him. The incident made him smile whenever he thought of it. So that was one small mercy.

Unfortunately, it was not enough to keep the storm clouds of annoyance and frustration from souring his mood. Everyone just seemed so absurdly cheerful, so happy that it was almost Christmas. So excited at the prospect of getting to spend what they called quality time with their loved ones.

And that was the rub right there. Killian didn't have any loved ones. Just the one that he loved, but who didn't love him in return. Or was too scared to give into any feelings that she might possess for him. Plus he'd rather enjoyed all the time he'd spent taking care of Henry for Emma while she figured out how to deal with Zelena. Only he never seemed to see the boy now that the threat had been removed.

Killian would never admit this to anyone, but the truth was that he was lonely. This wasn't a new feeling. It had been his default condition for the majority of his long life to date. Even when he found himself surrounded by other people, he still felt alone. So far the impending holiday had only served to make things abundantly clear. He didn't just  _feel_  alone. He  _was_  alone. More so now that he'd traded away his beloved ship. Alone and homeless – he found his room at Granny's perfectly adequate, but it wasn't a home - and for what?

For Emma. He'd traded the Jolly Roger away in order to bring him back to Emma. To bring her home.

As much as he missed his ship, he would do it all over again if he could. She was worth it. There was no doubt in his mind that Emma Swan was worth it. Even though it meant living out his days in a land that he still knew so little about, despite all the time he'd now been there. He was the proverbial fish out of water, in every sense of the term. There was so much for him to learn and no one to share his insecurities about that. He knew that people thought that he wasn't very smart. People had doubted his intelligence throughout his entire life. It seemed like everyone forgot that, save for Emma and Henry, none of them had grown up in this land. They'd just been given knowledge about it with the first curse. Killian had not. It wasn't that he was stupid, it was that everything here was all new to him. There weren't dancing statues to be found in any of the other places he'd lived. How was he to know what it was?

Considering that this incident had been a full two weeks ago, Killian should have been able to let it go by now. But he couldn't. Not when it seemed to serve as a stark reminder of his ignorance everytime he walked by it. A stark reminder that he was the only person in town who hadn't known what it was. In a strange way, that vile festive demon served as a reminder of his ever persistent solitude.

It was with this thought that he ended up throwing his latest dart especially hard at the board.

He stalked over to the board to collect the darts, lost in his melancholy thoughts when he caught sight of Emma walking towards him. Perhaps this day wouldn't be so bad, after all. Best not to show how happy he was to see her, he thought. Sometimes it was better to play it cool. So he turned to the dartboard, trying to pretend that he was preoccupied with the game and hadn't even noticed Emma.

"Hey."

Killian had underestimated how close Emma was and the sudden sound of her voice startled him enough that he managed to miss the dartboard entirely.  _So much for playing it cool, Jones_ , he thought. He took a brief second to collect himself before turning around to greet her, a lazy smirk on his face. "Swan. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"I need to ask you for a favor," she said, surprising him. "A big one."

Killian's eyebrow quirked. Oh yes, things were definitely looking up. "Oh? And what's that, love? What do you need?"  _Other than me._ He thought it, but wisely chose not to say it. His Swan seemed somewhat troubled.

"Do you know Marty?" she asked.

"Marty," he repeated. The name did ring a bell, but he didn't know why. Then he remembered something. "Oh, wasn't that the name of that kid from that movie you told me I needed to watch?"

"No," she frowned. "Well yes. But no, that's not who I'm talking about. I'm talking about Marty Johansen. It's a guy who lives in town. Brown hair, pretty skinny, kind of resembles a puppy?"

"I don't believe I know him," he answered. "Why?"

"Okay, see, here's the thing. The other day I got a call to help a guy who'd locked himself out of his car. And I went to help, but I thought it was weird. Why not call a locksmith, right?" she asked.

"Uh, right." Killian had absolutely no idea where this was going.

"Right. So it turns out that this guy has a crush on me and this was his way to get to meet me," she told him. "And he keeps asking me out and I keep trying to find nice ways to turn him down, but he just won't take a hint."

"Well, no wonder, love. You can't be nice when you turn a bloke down," he said.

"Yeah, I know, but you have to see this guy. He's like the human version of a puppy. I can't be mean to a human version of a puppy," she said.

"While I sympathize, what exactly does this have to do with me?" he asked.

"I had an idea. See, Marty's not getting the hint and I don't want to hurt his feeling by telling him to get lost or anything. But I thought that maybe if he thought I was already seeing someone, he might back off," she said.

"And you came to me." Oh, Killian's day had absolutely taken a turn for the better. "You want me to pretend to be your boyfriend."

"I know it's weird," Emma said quickly. "Especially considering your, well."

"My feelings for you?" he supplied.

"Yeah...those," she said.

"Those," he repeated. "Pesky little buggers."

"Look Killian, if you don't want to, I get it, but I would really appreciate it," she said.

"Hmm. Is this Marty here?" he asked.

"Yeah." Emma moved a little closer to him and tried to discreetly point Marty out. "He's the guy in the brown coat sitting at the counter."

"Ah, I do see what you mean, Swan. He does seem rather...puppyesque," Killian said. For reasons she couldn't be bothered to think about, it gave Emma a strange little thrill to hear Killian come up with the same term she had.

"Right?!" she exclaimed. "How can I crush that guy?"

"Did it occur to you that seeing you with another man might crush him anyway?" Killian asked, watching Emma wince.

"Well...no," she admitted. "So I guess that's a no. Okay," she sighed. "I better go back and tell him I'm busy." She started to walk away, feeling deflated.

"I didn't say no." Emma stopped at Killian's words. "Let me think about it, alright, love?"

She turned back to give him a hopeful smile. "Alright."

"Go back to your puppy," he said. "I'll decide."

He was totally going to agree. Killian was already thinking about how this intriguing little situation might work out in his favor. It seemed like the perfect way to get Emma to think about moving their relationship to the next level. But it wouldn't hurt to make her sweat a little.

* * *

"Everything okay?" Marty asked as he saw Emma approaching. Bless his heart, he seemed to light up when he saw her. That would only make things more complicated if she did end up having to break his heart.

"Uh, yeah, I was just. Well...Look Marty, I," Emma tried.

"Ah, there you are, my love!" Both Emma and Marty looked over to find Killian standing there with a goofy smile on his face. "I missed you this morning."

"Aw, I missed you too. Uh, honey?" Emma raised her eyebrows in question, smiling when he winked. Killian then slid his arm around her before kissing her cheek.

"H-honey?" Marty asked, looking crestfallen.

"Yeah, that's what I was about to tell you. I've been seeing someone," Emma told him. "This is -"

"Killian Jones," Killian interrupted, offering Marty his hand.

"M-Marty Johansen," Marty stammered. "So you're..."

"Her boyfriend. Yes," Killian grinned.

"You have a boyfriend?" Marty asked Emma, clearly not wanting to believe it.

"You're seeing Hook?"

Emma felt her stomach drop as she looked at the newest addition to their little group.

"Dad!"

David Nolan was standing there looking completely stunned and more than a little horrified. Killian could not wipe the grin off his own face. This was going to be better than he thought.

* * *

Everything was a little crazy over the next couple of weeks. News of Emma and Killian's "relationship" had spread through town like wildfire. Emma thought it was a miracle that her father hadn't had the coronary she'd been so worried he'd been about to have at Granny's. To say that her father wasn't pleased about this arrangement would be an understatement. Mary Margaret wasn't overly thrilled either, but she'd handled it better. And she'd sufficiently thrown Emma for a loop when she told her that it'd only been a matter of time. Evidently, Mary Margaret had seen that there was some kind of  _something_  going on between Emma and Killian.

Emma'd had to stop herself before telling her mother the truth about her and Killian. They'd talked about whether they should let her parents in on it or not and had eventually decided not to tell them it was all for show. Killian had pointed out how quickly everyone had learned that they were "dating" now. All it would take was for one person to blab and it would be over. Emma thought she could trust her parents not to, but had seen his point. So as far as her parents were concerned, Emma actually was seeing Killian. Romantically.

As far as things with Killian, Emma had to admit that she'd been having fun with their charade. They'd been on all kinds of "dates" that included eating at Granny's on regular basis. Which they had done before as friends, just not as often. Now that they were pretending to be a couple, Killian had insisted that they really needed to sell it.

Killian was enjoying their little arrangement far too much, Emma knew. But he had a point. So now they'd be sitting across from each other in a booth holding hands across the table. Emma had surprised Killian by reaching for his hook one day.

"Is this okay?" she'd asked, startled by the look on his face as he looked where her hand and his hook met. He'd seemed oddly emotional for some reason.

"Sure, love," he'd answered. "It's just that I haven't come across too many people who want to even touch my hook. Let alone hold it." They'd seemed to enter into a weird kind of intimate area here, Emma had thought. But she hadn't let go. Not until their food came. It'd only partly been for the sake of their charade.

In any event, aside from the shared meals out in public, they'd spent a lot of time in town. They'd take long walks, holding hands and talking. Emma had convinced him to build a snowman with her one day and there'd been a snowball fight the next. Killian had started that one. They'd become more affectionate since their fake relationship had started. They'd gone into Granny's for some hot chocolate to help warm them up after their snowball fight and Emma hadn't been able to get warm. So Killian had joined her on her side of the booth and put his arm around her, saying that it would look bad for a gentleman to let his alleged girlfriend shiver without offering her whatever warmth he could provide.

In truth, Killian had been worried about Emma and hadn't been able to stand watching her shiver. The fact that it also strengthened the believability of their fake relationship had little to do with his decision. At that point, Emma had been so cold that she may have snuggled with Marty if it had meant not being cold anymore. But she may have lied when Killian asked her if she was feeling any warmer. Partly for the show, but mostly because she thought he'd felt good. She'd ended up staying snuggled up against him the whole time they were there.

It wasn't just when they were in public. Emma had had Killian come over to the loft a few nights where she'd been introducing him to the Christmas specials and movies of this land. Trying to tell herself that it was all for the charade and not because she liked spending time with him. She'd fallen asleep in his arms a couple of times.

Maybe she was enjoying their arrangement a little too much too. And not just because it'd been keeping Marty at bay.

* * *

Nevermind.

Emma was seriously starting to regret the whole thing. Somehow Killian had convinced her to go ice skating at the outdoor rink and she'd agreed, like an idiot. For some reason, she had never been able to get the hang of ice skating as a kid. She asked Killian if he'd ever been ice skating before and he'd said he hadn't. That had made Emma feel better about not really knowing how to skate. At least up until the moment Emma stepped out onto the ice and immediately fell down. So all her old skills, or rather her lack thereof, were still intact. Good to know.

Emma might not have been so irritated by her inability to stay upright if Killian hadn't turned out to be a natural on the ice. He'd looked pretty wobbly initially, to the point that Emma had taken comfort knowing that they'd be struggling together. And then Killian had had the nerve to get the hang of it. Emma had been so annoyed, she'd told him to go take few laps around the ice and she'd catch up. It had taken some discussion, but he'd eventually agreed.

By the time that Killian had taken at least three laps around the ice, Emma figured that she had made it approximately ten feet. Ice skating was stupid. "Need some help?" Now she looked over to find Marty by her side. Figures. He would show up when she'd told Killian to go on without her. She should have listened to Killian when he'd try to insist that they stay together. The truth of the situation was that Emma was embarrassed at not being able to get the hang of it and not wanted Killian to witness the entirety of her humiliation.

So of course Marty would happen to show up. It had been a couple of days since she'd last seen him and this was when he'd resurface. Yup, ice skating was stupid. "I'm fine, Marty," she said, hoping he'd ignore the death grip she had on the railing.

"I can help you, you know. Especially since your boyfriend isn't around." Emma couldn't help noticing that he'd said boyfriend like it was a dirty word.

"He's around," Emma countered. "I told him to take a few laps without me. I didn't want to slow him down."

"I would never have left you," Marty said.

 _Exactly why I'm pretending that Killian's my boyfriend_ , Emma thought. "He'll be back. Don't worry about me."

"Don't be silly. Let me help." Marty reached for her hand and attempted to pull her away from the wall.

"Really, I'm okay," Emma said. As much as she hadn't wanted to hurt Marty's feeling, he was starting to get on her nerves. Couldn't he just leave her alone? And where was Killian anyway?

"You have to bend your knees more," Marty told her, tugging her farther out onto the ice.

"I told you I'm fine!" she snapped, yanking her hand back and managing to throw herself completely off balance. She started to fall backwards, relieved when someone caught her. Someone in possession of both a hand and a hook.

"Careful, love," Killian murmured in her ear, sending an unexpected shiver through her. "I've got you."

"You certainly do," she muttered.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Nothing," she answered quickly, unable to see the smile on his face. He had heard what she'd said. Not that she needed to know that.

"Get your feet underneath you," he advised, keeping an arm around her while he skated around to get in front of her. Deliberately skating between her and Marty. "Oh, sorry Morty. I didn't see you there."

"It's Marty," Marty corrected, looking annoyed as Emma latched on to Killian's hook.

"Oh right. Marty," Killian said, winking at Emma and making her cough to hide the resulting giggle. "I knew I shouldn't have left you here."

"Killian!" Emma cried out, feeling her feet starting to slip. Again.

"I've got you," he assured her.

"Ice skating is stupid," she announced, making him laugh.

"You're going to get the hang of it, Swan," he said. "Here take my hand too. We're going to do this together, alright, love?"

"I was just trying to help Emma get the hang of it," Marty put in.

"Well, she's got me here now," Killian said, shooting Marty an easygoing smile as he started to slowly skate backwards, pulling Emma along. "I'll take it from here, thanks." Once he'd gotten them out of the hearing range of a saddened Marty, he said, "I'm sorry you had to put up with him."

"It's okay. I'm happy you showed up when you did, though," Emma said as they continued to move. "I was hoping that he'd move on by now."

"Believe me when I tell you that you a very difficult woman to move on from, Swan," he said.

"Killian," she said, unsure how else to respond to that.

"Works out for me," he went on. "Since I suppose you want to keep this up."

"I do," she said softly. "But maybe we should find a new activity to do for our next date. I'm never going to get the hang of this."

"Emma?" he asked, smirking at her.

"What?"

"Look around." Emma's mouth dropped as she realized that they'd made it halfway around the ice with no incident. "You're doing it," he said.

"I'm doing it!" she cried, suddenly delighted. Of course, in her excitement she nearly managed to fall again. "Whoa." Killian let go of her hand to put his on her back and pull her against him as she started to fall back again.

"Dammit," Emma muttered. "I thought I had it. Guess I lost it, huh?" She'd ended up with her cheek against his chest and now looked up at him, startled to find him so close. It seemed like the world had momentarily disappeared as she fought not to lose herself in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Swan," he said quietly. "I've got you."

"M-maybe we should take a break," she said, feeling unsteady for an entirely different reason now.

"Alright," he agreed.

* * *

Killian was starting to wonder if agreeing to be a part of their facade had been a good idea or not. On the one hand, he was getting a taste of what being in a real relationship with Emma Swan would look like and he loved it. On the other, well, hook in his case, pretending to be her boyfriend had done a marvelous job of increasing his desire to be with her for real.

On the whole, Killian had decided that the good outweight the bad. Not only had this allowed him an excuse to spend more time with the woman he adored, doing so had helped push back that gnawing feeling of loneliness that had been plaguing him all season.

Perhaps Christmas wouldn't be so dreadful, after all.

He was on his way to meet Emma, his eyes narrowing at he walked by the dreaded dancing Claus. He still hated the blasted thing. Would always hate it, he thought. But his spirits lifted when he saw Emma leaning by the fence to go into Granny's.

She wasn't alone. Marty was with her and evidently talking her ear off. Emma looked at though she wished a portal would appear and cart her off to likely anywhere else. Killian's heart lifted when she caught sight of him approaching and her face lit up. "There you are," she said, sounding relieved before surprising him by jumping into his arms. "Hey, babe." Killian's eyebrow quirked. Babe. He didn't think she'd called him that before. He liked it.

"Hey yourself," he said. "Happy to see me, I gather?"

"You have no idea," she said, making him smirk.

"Hello Morty," Killian said.

"Okay, come on. You know my name is Marty," Marty said, irritated.

"Aye." Killian released Emma and turned his attention to Marty. "Kind of like how you know that Emma has a boyfriend and yet you keep pestering her. Perhaps when you stop doing that, I'll decide to use your actual name. Or not. You know, you really are quite irritating. Emma's just too polite to tell you so."

"Emma?" Marty asked, seeming chastised by Killian's words.

"He's right," Emma confirmed. "I'm sorry, Marty. You're a nice guy, but nothing is ever going to happen between us. I'm with Killian and that isn't to going to change. You need to let it go."

"I...I guess I'll take my leave then," Marty said after a moment. He looked humiliated and while a part of Emma felt bad for it, she was to see him go.

"Guess that takes care of that," Emma said quietly.

"Bloody hell," Killian muttered, suddenly annoyed with himself.

"What?" Emma asked.

"I shouldn't have lost my temper with him like that," Killian said, giving her a sad smile. "He knows there's to be nothing between you two now. So I suppose there's no more need for us to go on pretending."

"Oh," Emma said, taken aback.

"I mean, that was the whole point of this charade, wasn't it? To make him go away?" he asked.

"It was, but..."

"But what?" he asked.

"I don't want to give it up," she admitted, not meeting his eyes. "Not...not yet." Now she looked up and a small smile appeared on her face. "And definitely not right now."

"And why's that?" he wanted to know.

"What do you know about mistletoe?" she asked, pointing to the little sprig of green in the entryway leading into Granny's over her head.

"Is that what that's called? I've seen those around town, but I thought they were just for decoration," he said.

"Like the dancing Claus?" she asked, unable to resist. She'd been teasing, but was surprised to see a cloud come over his features.

"I don't want to talk about that damned Claus," he said.

"What is it with you and that thing?" she asked.

"We don't have anything like that in any of the other places I've lived. It's just a reminder of all I've still to learn about this land," he told her. "It reminds me of how out of place I am here."

"I don't think you're out of place here," she said. "I think you fit in just fine." At his cocked eyebrow indicating his disbelief at this fact, she smiled. "I like having you here, Killian. And I'd be happy to tell you anything you want to know about this land. Ask me about the mistletoe."

"Alright," he sighed. "Tell me about the mistletoe."

"It's a very important tradition around here," she informed him, trying to sound mysterious. "When two people stand under a sprig of mistletoe, they're supposed to kiss."

"Are they?" he asked, sounding intrigued as he glanced back up at it.

"It's supposed to be bad luck for a woman to refuse a kiss under the mistletoe," she added. "So what do you say?"

"Well, I suspect that if I'm going to live in this world than I should partake in its traditions," he said, stepping closer to her. "And I'd hate for you to have bad luck because of me."

"It's only bad luck if I re-"

"Ssh," he said, bringing his lips to hers. They'd made it this far into their arrangement without kissing on the lips and now they were both wondering why in the world they hadn't.

"Killian," Emma said, dreamily, as the kiss ended. "What are you doing on Christmas?"

"I hadn't thought about it," he said. That was a stone cold lie. He'd assumed that he'd be spending it in his room at Granny's. Alone.

"You could come join us at the loft," she offered.

"As your fake boyfriend?" he asked, bracing himself for her answer.

"Actually..." Emma bit her lip before deciding to take the plunge. "I was thinking that you could come as my  _real_  boyfriend."

"Really?"

"Yes," she nodded, smiling at him.

"I think I can do that," he said.

"Good. Now come back here," she said, kissing him again.

So Killian wouldn't be alone for Christmas at all. And maybe the Christmas customs of this world weren't so strange. He'd grown rather fond of most of them.

But he still hated the vile festive demon that was the dreaded dancing Claus.


	5. Love Triangle...sort of

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: love triangle
> 
> Emma has accepted the fact that she's part of a love triangle. Love quad, if you want to be technical. But still, there's some limits, for heaven's sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to borrow a couple of characters from my other ongoing CS one shot series, All We Ever Wanted for this one. If you've read it, you can probably guess who. No need to worry if you haven't read it though. You don't need to read that one to understand this one.

It was time for Emma to face the truth. Her husband had fallen head over heels for another woman. A younger woman. A much younger woman, at that. One who looked shockingly like Emma herself.

A beautiful little lass who'd had the audacity to ensnare her husband's heart. It had been going on for years. Just over three, to be more precise. Emma wasn't an idiot. She knew the exact moment that it happened. She'd watched it happen right before her very eyes. There was nothing she could have done to stop it. Nothing, that is, except for watch.

The crazy thing about this is that Killian's feelings for this other woman didn't seem to diminish his feeling for Emma at all. Not one bit. In fact, he'd somehow seemed to love her all the more for it. So she'd gone along with it. She'd accepted the other woman. She'd made peace with the fact that she was now officially involved in a love triangle.

It'd been a fine arrangement, all things considered. But the situation had grown more complicated in the past year and a half. Yes, Emma always knew the precise moment when things changed. The exact moment when a third woman entered the picture. One even younger than the first, if you could believe that.

That's right. Killian's heart now belonged to three different women. The scandal of it all. This new one was a brunette with beautiful blue eyes exactly like is. And here Emma had believed her husband preferred blondes. Perhaps he still did; the brunette was outnumbered by the two blondes, that had to mean something. But then again, the brunette had managed to successfully steal a chunk of Killian's heart all the same. Turning this love triangle into a love quadrangle. Love quad? Whatever you wanted to called it, that's what Emma was in.

That said, Emma wasn't concerned about the brunette at the moment. Emma had found a way to keep her entertained for the time being. No, the problem at the moment was the blonde. The little blonde who was currently occupying all of Killian's attention. All while Emma stood there and watched. The nerve.

It was nearly Christmas and Killian was holding his pretty little blonde securely in his arms. She was dressed festively in a red dress with a pair of reindeer on it and black leggings underneath. Emma watched as Killian lifted the blonde up so she could place a carefully selected ornament on their Christmas tree. Watched as Killian praised the blonde for her choice ornament placement.

And smiled.

That's right. Those other two women that she shared Killian's heart with? Emma loved them both. Loved them with everything she had. She couldn't help it. Those tricksy little lasses had managed to ensnare Emma's heart as well.

But there were some limits, for crying out loud. Emma certainly wasn't going to stand back and not be a part of the holiday festivities. So she gathered up her nerve and made her way over to Killian and his little blonde.

The little blonde who lit up like a, well, like a Christmas tree as Emma approached. "Look Mommy! I'm helping Daddy!"

Okay, okay, okay.

So the two other women were, in fact, Emma and Killian's daughters. Hence, why Emma was perfectly okay with the arrangement. If Emma had to share her husband's heart with other women, she would naturally pick their daughters.

Though, truth be told, sometimes things could get a little competitive. It all began when Catalina - the aforementioned little blonde - was nearly two years old. Emma had dared to kiss Killian in Catalina's presence and pulled back to find her toddler glaring at her.

"My Daddy!" Catalina had insisted, most strongly.

This was, of course, expected. Like all toddlers before her, Catalina had entered a possessive stage. There'd been a time when Emma had been the one Catalina staked her claim on. This had first happened when Emma had been paying attention to her little brother, Neal. Catalina had not been pleased with this. Not one bit. She'd stomped over to them, loudly protesting that Emma was her Mommy. Catalina had then proceeded to climb onto Emma's lap, effectively staking what she considered her territory and more or less stared her uncle down until he'd gotten distracted by something else. She'd shown him, alright. Emma was Catalina's, period.

But when Emma had kissed Killian in front of Catalina that day, Emma found herself in the hot seat. Catalina had quite the impressive glare for a toddler. One that she often gave Emma in regards to Killian. Now, Catalina could still be possessive of Emma - just usually not when Killian was around. Save for the rare occasion when Emma was the preferred parent. But most of the time, when Killian was around Catalina made certain to make Emma understand that Killian was her Daddy. Hers, not Emma's. So Emma was to back off.

In truth, Catalina took offense with anyone who had the gall to steal her daddy's attention. One of the funniest things Emma had ever witnessed was when Killian had been talking to David while holding Catalina. Emma had watched as her toddler had actually reached out and covered her grandpa's mouth with her hand to make him stop talking. Then when Killian asked Catalina if she would let him talk to Grandpa, the answer had been a firm no. When he asked her again, she'd responded with "I said no!" That had been the end of that.

In Emma's case, she was the one who stole Killian's attention the most. Catalina had gone through a phase where if Emma tried to sit next to Killian, Catalina would climb up and either sit between them or on Killian's lap. Either one worked.

Catalina was getting less possessive as she grew older, but Emma had turned it into a game. A game that Killian naturally encouraged since it involved two of the loves of his life fighting over his affections. But in a playful way now. It'd been a while since Emma had been on the receiving end of one of Catalina's glares and the last time hadn't been in relation to Killian at all. No, that had been when Emma had been trying to give her cough medicine when she'd been sick.

But Catalina was all smiles tonight and really, most of the time. "I see that, baby," Emma said, making a point to admire the ornament Catalina had chosen. "Good job!" She glanced over to check on the brunette in their little love quad, 17-month-old Clara, who was currently busy stacking blocks nearby and not paying any attention to the rest of them. Emma brought her attention back to Catalina. "Come here to Mommy." She took her oldest daughter in her arms. "Guess what, baby?"

"What?" Catalina asked.

"My Daddy," Emma told her, nodding towards Killian.

"No!" Catalina protested, more than ready to jump into this game. "He's my Daddy."

"He's my Daddy," Emma argued, grinning at her daughter.

"My Daddy!" came the spirited response from an also grinning Catalina.

"Now, now, there's no need to fight. There's more than enough of me for all of you," Killian assured them as he stepped back to admire the tree. "But you know, if you really want to keep fighting over me, far be it from me to stop you."

"Psst," Emma whispered to Catalina. "Daddy's mine."

"No! He's mine," Catalina countered.

As they continued to playfully argue about which one of them Killian truly belonged to, Clara lost interest in the blocks and toddled over to him. He looked down as he felt two little arms around his legs.

"Hello, my darling," Killian cooed to his youngest, smiling when she raised her arms up to him. "Do you want Daddy to pick you up?" He knew full well that that was what she wanted, but he and Emma made a point of encouraging her to use her words. She seemed so much quieter than her sister at been at that age.

"Pick up," Clara agreed, opening and closing her tiny fists in an effort to pull him towards her. At least that's how Killian interpreted it. He was quick to obey this simple request, obediently leaning down and scooping her up into his arms. She reached up to touch his face. "My Daddy."

"Uh-oh," Killian spoke up to get the attention of the still arguing Emma and Catalina. "Sorry, girls. I'm afraid I've been claimed by another."

Both Emma and Catalina looked over to find Clara snuggling up against Killian. "My Daddy," Clara said, softly.

This round would go to the little brunette. Emma shook her head, even as the smile on her face softened at the sight. She never should've underestimated the brunette. That was clearly the lesson here.

Correction. She never should have underestimated Killian.

Killian, whose heart felt like it might burst from all the love filling it. He had his sweet Clara cuddled up in his arms while his golden haired loves stood before him, the lights on their Christmas tree casting a pretty glow over them.

"How lucky am I to have three beautiful lasses who love me? The three best Christmas presents I could ever hope to receive." His eyes were soft as he continued. "My Clara," he said, gently rubbing circles on her back with his fingertips. He looked at Catalina, wrapped up in her mother's arms. "My Catalina." He looked at Emma. "And my Emma. My darling girls."

Emma had been wrong. This round had gone to all of them.

"Our Daddy," Emma said, smiling adoringly at her husband and youngest as she held Catalina close. This was one love quad she was happy to be in.


	6. DeGrinchifying a Pirate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: lost Christmas spirit
> 
> It's official: Emma Swan was dating the Grinch. Or rather, she was dating Killian Jones, the formerly villainous Captain Hook, who had somehow morphed into the Grinch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place somewhere during those six week between 4a and 4b. In this case, the events of 4a happened a little before Christmas and have put Killian is quite the funk. This one went a little off the rails, but hopefully in an entertaining way.

It was official: Emma Swan was dating the Grinch. Or rather, she was dating Killian Jones, the formerly villainous Captain Hook, who had somehow morphed into the Grinch.

It had all started with the arrival of the Snow Queen. And then Killian had had his heart ripped out his chest by Mr. Gold. Forced to do his oldest enemy's bidding and nearly losing his life in the end. Emma's blood still went cold when she remembered how it had felt to stand there, frozen, while Mr. Gold had tried to crush Killian's heart. Would have, if it hadn't been for Belle.

Killian hadn't been the same since. Before all of this began, Emma had been telling Killian about the holidays of this realm and he'd seemed very interested in Christmas. Had even been excited about it.

That was no longer the case.

Now as the holiday was coming closer, everything about it seemed to irritate him. He'd been so grouchy and distant lately. Emma couldn't say she blamed him. Whenever his attitude began to get on her nerves, she tried to remember what he'd just been through. She couldn't say that she'd be any better under the same circumstances. She probably would have turned into the Grinch too.

But she'd so wanted Killian to enjoy his first Christmas. It was a good thing that Belle had banished Mr. Gold from Storybrooke because otherwise Emma would have been tempted to go after him. Thinking about Mr. Gold and what he'd done to Killian, not to mention what he'd tried to do to her, pissed her off.

It was better for her blood pressure if she didn't think about it. Especially since Belle had banished him from Storybrooke. He was now out in the land without magic and unable to hurt either Emma or Killian.

But what was she going to do about Killian? Emma was still trying to wrap her head around the two of them being in a relationship. She had finally stopped running. Had finally let herself admit that she was falling in love with him. She couldn't let herself consider the possibility that she might be in love with him already. For whatever reason, she was a little more comfortable with the notion that she was still falling for him instead of already being in love with him.

Emma imagined that if she tried to explain this to anyone else that they would think she was insane. Maybe she was.

Whatever. Her sanity, or lack thereof, wasn't the problem right now. Killian was. Mr. Gold had succeeded in turning Killian into the Grinch. So now Emma had to figure out how to de-Grinchify him.

She walked into Granny's, finding him playing darts. It seemed like he was always playing darts lately. If you could call it that. Killian wasn't so much throwing the darts as he was hurling them at the board as hard as he could. Emma couldn't help thinking that he pictured Gold's face on the dartboard and that's why he threw them so hard. When he went to retrieve the darts he'd thrown, his face was set with that scowl that had become his usual expression.

Emma sighed before working up the nerve to go to him. She could do this. She could be the supportive girlfriend. She could de-Grinchify him.

She hoped.

* * *

"Hey," Emma said, brightly as she walked up to him.

"Swan," he replied, brusquely.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Aye."

"Killian?"

"What?"

"Are you going to look at me?" He merely glanced at her before throwing his next dart.

Okay, now she was annoyed.

"That's it," she said, moving to stand directly in front of him.

"What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?" He asked. "I could have hit you."

"Oh good, you are capable of saying more than one word," she said.

"Swan," he sighed.

"Stop it. I know that you've been through a lot lately, but at some point, you're going to have to talk to me," she said. This was evidently the wrong thing to say.

"Coming from the woman who kept avoiding me after we brought Marian back. Are you serious, Swan?" he asked.

Fair enough.

"Yes. If there's one thing that you acting like the Grinch has taught me, it's that being avoided sucks," she answered. "You've been avoiding me and I don't like it."

"Well, forgive me for not being at your every beck and call," he said, sarcastically. "And who the hell is the Grinch?"

"That's the guy who stole Christmas," she said.

"I am hardly trying to steal Christmas," Killian said, rolling his eyes.

"No, you're just pissed off most of the time," she shot back. "I just can't figure out who you're mad at. Mr. Gold? Or me?"

"This is hardly the place for this discussion, Swan," he said.

"Fine. Then let's go up to your room," she said, surprising him.

"You've never been in my room," he pointed out. It was true. She hadn't.

"Well, there's a first time for everything. Come on." Emma held her hand out to him. "Please."

"Fine."

* * *

They didn't speak as they headed up to the room he'd been staying in at Granny's. Emma's eyes were immediately drawn to his bed, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they took that next step. They'd kissed plenty, but they hadn't had sex yet. That was something they had talked about. Emma hadn't been sure how much he knew about sex in this land, in regards to things like condoms. So she'd educated him on the subject, which had been slightly awkward but they'd gotten through it.

And they would get through this one.

"You can sit down," he said, interrupting her thoughts. "If you'd like."

"Thanks," she said, choosing to sit on the edge of the bed. "Are you going to join me or what?" There were a few seconds where she thought he wouldn't, but then he sat down beside her. No sense beating around the bush, Emma thought. Might as well jump right in. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?" he asked, sounding tired.

"Oh I don't know. For not figuring out what was wrong with you? For waiting to put your heart back into your chest?" Emma still cringed when she thought about how she'd made him wait until they'd gotten back to Granny's to give him back his heart. Even now she couldn't understand why she'd waited.

"I'm not mad at you, Swan."

"You...you're not?" she asked.

"No. I'm mad at myself," he admitted. "Alright?"

"What for?" she wanted to know.

"I was weak. I let myself be manipulated by the Crocodile and almost lost you because of it," Killian said. "All because I wanted my hand back for our date. I wanted to be whole for you. That's how this all began."

"You know, Killian, for what it's worth? I don't think of you as not being whole. I mean, it doesn't bother me that you only have one hand," Emma said, frowning a second later. "I mean, I hate that Gold took your hand, don't get me wrong. I can't imagine what that must have been like for you. But Killian, when I look at you? When I look at this?" She reached for his hook and held it, relieved when he didn't try to pull away. "I see a man who has been through a lot, survived a lot. You don't let it hold you back. You figure it out. You...you're one of the most resilient people I've ever met and that's one of the things I lo-" Emma's eyes widened at what had almost come out of her mouth. "Um, that's one of the things I like about you."

"You really don't mind this? You wouldn't rather I had a hand instead?" He pressed, nodding at his hook. "This is a weapon, you do realize that."

"I do," she acknowledged. "That doesn't scare me."

"No?"

"No," she confirmed. "It's only a weapon when you use it as one. You don't hurt people with that unless you're trying to. You've never used it to hurt me. I trust you, Killian. And besides, it's...well."

"What?" He asked.

"It's sexy, okay? I don't know why it is, but it is," she said, blushing a little now. "It doesn't bother me, Killian. I mean it. I...like you exactly as you are. I don't want you to change."

"I appreciate that, Emma," he said, ducking his head. "I'm sorry I've been such a...a Grinch, was it?"

"Yeah," Emma nodded. "I just...I wish you were looking forward to Christmas. With everything that's happened, I thought that the holiday would make you feel better. But it just seems to piss you off."

"Because of what it symbolizes," he said.

"What?"

"People talk about peace on earth and goodwill towards man and so on," he began. "Given everything that's happened, I can't help but feel like it's not meant for me. I've done a lot of bad things, Emma. Getting tricked by the Crocodile was the last in a very long list."

"Hold on," Emma said. "What are you telling me here? That you think you don't deserve to enjoy Christmas? So what, you've decided to let it piss you off instead?"

"I'd say that's it in a nutshell," he said, making her let out a loud sigh.

"Killian, that's...that's ridiculous. You deserve to enjoy Christmas as much as any of the rest of us," she said. "It's not like anyone's perfect. We all do bad things."

"Not everyone becomes a villain, love," he said gently.

"You're not a villain anymore," she argued. "And you can always decide to do something good."

"Like what?"

"Like...oh!" Emma exclaimed, remembering something. "The school is putting a Christmas festival on for the kids and they need people to help them with arts and crafts and stuff. We should volunteer."

"You want us to volunteer to do...arts and crafts," he made a face, "with a bunch of children?"

"Yes. I think it'll help de-Grinchify you," she said. "You know, like maybe doing something good and Christmasy will get you into the Christmas spirit. What do you say?"

"I think this is a horrible idea," he said, bluntly. "But I'll do it."

* * *

Killian Jones had finally met his match. Who knew that it would be a group of first graders? He had been sent to supervise at a table full of them and at first, they'd all regarded each other with mutual suspicion. Then the children began assaulting him with questions. None of them having anything to do with what they were supposed to be doing. First, they wanted to know why he wore leather. Then there were questions about the kohl that he lined his eyes and why did he do that? What was his favorite color? And so on and so forth. He'd tolerated them as well as he could. Until finally one of the little girls sitting next to him, he believed she'd said her name was Cindy, had the gall to ask him if he was an elf.

He'd been right when he'd said that this was a horrible idea.

"I beg your pardon?" he asked.

"Are you an elf?" Cindy repeated.

"Why would you ask me such a question?" he countered.

"Your ears," she said. Killian went utterly still when she reached up to poke at the one nearest to her. "You have elf ears."

"I am not an elf," he responded, put out by the very suggestion. "I assure you. I'm a pirate."

"Why do you talk like that?" one of the boys sitting at the table asked. Killian thought his name might be Alex.

"Why do you talk like that?" Killian shot back. He'd been unaware that helping children with an arts and crafts project could be so frustrating. They were meant to be making Christmas cards, for heaven's sake. Instead Killian found himself the subject of an inquisition. Leading up to the indignity of being asked if he was an elf.

"Mister Jones?" Killian turned his attention to the little girl on his other side. This one Killian didn't mind as much. She'd been mostly quiet since he'd joined them and when she spoke, it was with a lisp due to some missing teeth. So it sounded closer to Misther Jonesth which Killian found adorable in spite of his annoyance with the general situation.

"Yes...um, what did you say your name was, lass?" He asked.

"Madison," she answered. It sounded more like Madithon.

"What was your question, Madison?"

"Why do you have a hook?"

"Oh," Killian blinked. The truth was that he wouldn't have worn his hook if he'd remembered that they were doing this today. Emma had reminded him on the way there and they hadn't had time to go back. "Because I don't have a hand." It seemed best to go with the obvious.

"What happened to it?" She inquired.

"I, um, I lost it," he said, knowing full well that telling them the true story would likely get him kicked out of the school. Somehow he didn't imagine that telling a group of six-year-olds that he'd had his hand chopped off by the Dark One after running off with his wife would go over well with the parents in attendance.

"It fell off?!" she asked, sounding horrified.

"No, no, no," Killian said quickly. "There was an...an accident."

"Do you miss it?" She wanted to know.

"Sometimes, yes," he admitted.

"Are you sure you're not an elf?" the first girl, Cindy, asked.

"I am not..." Killian stopped himself with a sigh. Oh what the hell? Why not give her what she apparently wanted. "You know what, uh, Cindy, was it?" She nodded and Killian gestured for all the kids to lean in closer. "You're right, lass. I am an elf, sent here from the, um..." Where the devil were elves from, anyway?

"The North Pole?" Cindy asked, sounding excited now.

"Aye! I was sent here from the North Pole on a top secret mission from, um, from Santa Claus," he told them, leading to a chorus of ooh's from the children.

"I knew it!" She said, gleefully. "How did you get here?"

"On a pirate ship," Killian answered. "For you see, lass, I am a pirate elf." Another round of ooh's.

Okay, so maybe this wasn't so bad.

* * *

Emma had been busy at another table and when she came by to tell Killian it was time for them to go, she found him telling the kids at his table a story. The children at his table were hanging on his every word. She couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face as she watched.

Killian had complained all the way to the school, but he certainly seemed to be enjoying himself now. He happened to look up, noticing her standing there. "Ah, and look who's here! This is the lass I was telling you about."

"Uh, hi kids," Emma said, confused now. "What were you telling them about me?"

"I was just telling them about that time that we were sent to retrieve a compass for Santa Claus," he answered, his eyes twinkling.

"Oh, I see," Emma said. She was torn between being amused and being weirdly emotional that he was telling them a version of their own story.

"Did you really climb a beanstalk?" A boy at the table asked.

"We did," Emma said.

"See, I told you, Alex," Killian said. "Santa really needed that compass."

"You're pretty," a girl at the table told Emma.

"Aye, that she is, Cindy," Killian said, his voice softer now as he looked at Emma. "She's very pretty."

* * *

They'd stayed at the table for a little while longer chatting. Emma learned that Killian had told the children that he was an elf from the North Pole and that as Sheriff, Emma's job was to keep him safe in town. While he conducting his top secret mission for Santa Claus. The kids had all been sad when Emma announced that it was time for them to leave. Killian had just put his coat back on when he felt someone tugging at his hand. He looked down to see Madison.

"Misther Jones?"

"Yes?" Killian asked, crouching down to reach her level.

"I made this for you," she told him, offering him a piece of paper. On it was a drawing of an animal of some sort.

"You...you drew me a picture?" he asked, floored. He took the paper from her and examined it.

"Uh huh," she nodded. "It's a reindeer," she supplied. "I made him like you!"

"How's that?" he asked.

"He's a pirate reindeer!" she answered, like it should have been obvious. "See? He has an eyepatch and that leg isn't real," she said, pointing to one leg that was shaped differently than the others. The hoof was drawn into the shape of a hook. Its left front leg.

"I...this..." Killian was absurdly touched by this gesture. He had never had a child draw him anything, let alone a version of himself as a reindeer. "I think I know just the place to put it. Thank you, sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas, Misther Jonesth," she said, sweetly.

"Merry Christmas, lass," he said quietly, watching as she then ran to who he presumed were her parents.

* * *

 

"Hmm." Killian looked up at Emma's hum and found her beaming at him. They were walking back to Granny's holding hands. Killian had carefully folded Madison picture and tucked it in one of the inside pockets of his coat.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, you. You were so annoyed about coming here and you've been such a grump about a Christmas, but you had fun today. Admit it," she said.

"It was...not completely horrific," he said.

"Please," Emma rolled her eyes. "You had those kids eating out of the palm of your hand and you loved it."

"When do I not enjoy being the center of attention?" He asked, lightly.

"You know what else?" She asked.

"What's that?"

"You've been all grr, I'm a villain," she began, attempting to mimic his accent. "I don't deserve to enjoy Christmas. I'm going to heave darts at dartboards. Grr."

"I have not been that grouchy," he interrupted, amused.

"You have," she corrected. "But you know what? Children don't usually go around drawing pictures to give to villains." At this, Killian noticeably softened.

"No, I suppose they don't," he said, thoughtfully.

"She liked you," Emma said, smiling at him.

"Madison was a sweet child," he said. "She probably would have drawn a picture for anyone."

"Killian. She drew you as a reindeer," Emma reminded him. "She liked you."

"Aye, well," he smiled, the tips of his ears turning pink. "Perhaps I liked her as well."

"So should I be worried about this?" She teased.

"Darling, you know that you hold my heart," he said. Emma tried to ignore the feeling of warmth that spread through her body at his words. "But then again, she did draw me as a reindeer."

"She did," Emma laughed. "I can draw you a picture, I guess. Not a reindeer though, it's been done. I wonder how you'd look as a snowman."

"I would be a devilishly handsome snowman," Killian decided.

"Of course you would," Emma grinned. "Oh, and what's this?"

"What?"

"Is that a smile on your face, Captain? Are you," Emma let out a dramatic gasp, "finding your Christmas spirit?"

"Perhaps I am, love," he agreed.

* * *

Emma couldn't believe that she was about to do this. Killian had been in better spirits ever since they'd gone to the school. He kept the picture that Madison had drawn for him visible in his room and she'd catch him smiling whenever he looked at it. Since then, his mood had drastically improved as he slowly lost his Grinchiness.

But he wasn't quite there. Not yet. Killian's story about the two of them climbing up a beanstalk to retrieve a compass for Santa Claus had inspired her.

Her parents had graciously invited him to have dinner with them at the loft. And then Emma had announced that she was going to stay with Killian at Granny's that night. Her mom had given her part of her idea, when she'd commented how nice it would be to be together on Christmas. It had gotten Emma to think about how Killian would wake up alone on Christmas Day and that had bothered her. So she'd decided that she would be there when he woke up. This would be the first night that they'd spent together as a couple.

Emma hadn't missed the stern look David was giving Killian as she and Killian left. "We'll see you guys tomorrow morning?" Snow had asked, cheerfully. She hadn't seemed too bothered about this development.

"We'll be here bright and early," Emma had promised.

"Alright, have fun!" Snow had called as they left. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight Mom. Night Dad," Emma had responded. As Emma was closing the door behind her she'd heard her father let out a sound of disgust.

"Have fun?!" She'd heard him say, presumably to her mother. He'd sounded horrified. "They better not have too much fun."

What her father didn't know wouldn't hurt him, Emma thought now. She was standing in front of the mirror in Killian's bathroom, her heart pounding in her chest as she studied her reflection in the mirror. She thought back to when she'd questioned her sanity earlier in the month. It seemed like she'd officially gone off the deep end now, if she hadn't been there already.

But this would be worth it. She hoped.

Emma sauntered out of the bathroom and found Killian lying back against the headboard, reading a book. Naturally, he wouldn't be paying any attention when she made her grand entrance. No matter.

"Ahem." Killian looked up and his jaw immediately dropped in response to her appearance. As did his book, landing on the floor with a soft thud. That made Emma feel better.

"Swan," Killian breathed, his eyes drifting from the Santa hat she wore all the way down and back up again. "What...you...what?" That made Emma feel a lot better. He couldn't even get a full sentence out and there was no mistaking the pure desire in his eyes. And here she'd thought that going out and buying a sexy Santa costume had been a crazy idea.

"It's Christmas Eve," Emma said, hoping he didn't notice how much her voice was shaking as she stepped closer to the foot of the bed. "Do you remember what happens tonight, Killian?" God, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been this nervous. "This is the night where Santa Claus gets in his sleigh and delivers presents to all the good boys and girls."

"Aye." Heaven help him, Killian thought his heart might actually stop dead in his chest as Emma climbed up on the bed and slowly crawled her way towards him, her hands and knees on either side of his body. It would be his luck if had lived this long only to drop dead once he finally had Emma Swan in his bed. Dressed, or rather barely dressed, in a skimpy red dress that flared out just a bit. A stripe of white faux fur lined the bottom. It took everything in his power not to tug her closer. "Does this make you Emma Claus then?" He asked, his voice thick.

"I suppose so," she said, reaching him finally and easing herself back onto her knees to straddle his hips.

"You know what, love?" Killian asked. "I do believe I've located my Christmas spirit."

"Oh, is that what I'm feeling?" She quipped, though her voice was still trembling. She pressed a hand to her stomach and gave him a sheepish smile. "It's, uh, it's been a while. And my last time was with a flying monkey in disguise." She forced herself to breathe out. "I'm a little nervous."

"Aye, love, me too," he admitted. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes." And she was. She just needed to calm down a little. Now Emma's breath hitched in his throat when Killian lifted his hand to cup her cheek tenderly.

"If it makes you feel any better, it's been a while for me too," he told her.

"Yeah?"

"I've not been with another woman since I met you, Emma," he said, honestly. "And before that, it didn't mean anything. But now..."

"But now...?" She urged.

"This means everything," he said, his voice breaking on his next word. "You mean everything."

"Killian," she whispered.

"Ssh." Emma's eyes fluttered closed as Killian leaned in to kiss her. He was being so gentle with her, almost as though he were trying to use his kiss to soothe her more than seduce her. Emma melted into it, into him. "We're going to take this nice and slow," he promised. "All you need to do is trust me."

"I do," she told him, frowning a little when he pulled back. "Killian?"

"It's alright," he murmured. "I'm just taking this off." He was talking about his hook.

"You...you don't have to," she said, watching him remove it.

"Actually, Swan, I do," he argued, gently, reaching to set it on the nearest bedside table. "If this is to be the first time I touch you, I want it to be without my hook."

"What...what about the brace?" she asked, noticing the way he was eyeing it.

"Oh, well, I can leave that on," he said, looking somewhat uncomfortable now.

"Do you usually take it off to sleep?" she asked.

"I do, yes," he nodded. "But we're not about to sleep."

"Yeah, but if it's bothering you..."

"It's nothing I can't handle," he said. "Besides, you probably don't want to see what my wrist looks like without it. It's...it's not..." Emma had never seen him this self-conscious before. "I'm afraid it might kill the mood."

"It won't," she decided. "I want to see you. All of you. Here." Emma surprised him by reaching for it. "Let me?" She looked back up at him, waiting for his jerky nod before slowly unfastening the straps holding it in place and pulling it off. She handed it to him to put on the bedside table as she inspected his stump, running her fingers over it tenderly as she looked over all his scars. "Oh Killian," she whispered.

"I know it's ugly," he stammered.

"No, it's not," she shook her head. "It just makes me think that you are one of the strongest people I know. You've been hurt so much."

"So have you," he pointed out.

"Not like this," she said quietly, stunning him by lifting his wrist to her lips and placing a gentle kiss on the worst of his scars. "My pirate," she said lovingly, continuing to kiss each of his scars. "My survivor." She then set his wrist against her hip. "Ask me what I want for Christmas."

"Uh..." The shift in their discussion threw him off guard. "What do you want for Christmas, love?"

"You," she answered, simply. "All of you."

"What a coincidence," he managed, bringing his hand back to her cheek.

"Yeah?" Emma turned her head to kiss his palm. "Why's that?"

"Because it just so happens that what I want for Christmas is you," he replied, making her smile.

"Well in that case," she began. "I think that we should give each other what we want. Kiss me."

"Happily," he said. This kiss, too, was slow and tender. "Emma?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for helping me find my Christmas spirit," he murmured.

"You're welcome. Now how about we put that spirit to use?" She said, smiling against his lips and finding herself on her back with him on top of her a moment later.

"As you wish, Emma Claus," he teased her.


	7. Where are you, Christmas?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Christmas wish
> 
> Something is wrong with his Swan. Of this Killian was certain. As her husband, it was his job to get to the heart of the matter. Killian would find out what was wrong, since he very well couldn't try to make it better if he didn't know what the it in question was. Upon finding that important piece of information out, he would then set about seeing what he could do about it.
> 
> He would call his mission Operation: Happy Swan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking that Christmas probably wasn't a happy time for Emma growing up. She always talked about how she was always alone and I imagine that it would be worse around Christmas. So she never would've looked forward to it. And Killian being Killian would want her to have a nice Christmas, so that's what inspired this one shot.

Something was wrong with his Swan. Of that Killian was completely certain. Christmas was coming and while he hadn't experienced the holiday yet himself, he understood that this was supposed to be a joyful time. A time when those who believed celebrated the birth of Jesus. For those who did not believe, it was still a time for family and friends to come together. And it seemed that most of Storybrooke was excited about and looking forward to the upcoming holiday. Killian had even found himself getting swept up in it all, even though he had a hard time understanding some of the customs. He was looking forward to experiencing his first Christmas. His first Christmas in hundreds of years.

There was, however, at least one Storybrooke resident that did not appear to be looking forward to Christmas at all. His beloved Swan who was, in Killian's opinion, the most important of all the residents of Storybrooke. Yes, he was heavily biased and had no problem admitting it. If anyone had a problem with that, well, they could bloody well deal with it. Killian simply adored his Swan and had promised himself that he would always do his very best to give her whatever her heart desired. That he would lift her up when she was feeling down and that he would make her feel better when she was sad.

And now she seemed sad for reasons he didn't yet know and seemed to become sadder with every day that brought them closer to Christmas. As her husband, it was his job to get to the heart of the matter. Killian would find out what was wrong, since he very well couldn't try to make it better if he didn't know what the it in question was. Upon finding that important piece of information out, he would then set about seeing what he could do about it.

He would call his mission Operation: Happy Swan. Clearly, Henry had been rubbing off on him. But for some reason, titling his mission had given him a resolve he hadn't had previously. He had no idea how that worked, but he wasn't about to question it.

Killian had needed to go to the Jolly to see how she was faring in this cold weather and stopped by Granny's on his way over to the station, knowing that Emma would be getting hungry for lunch right about now. Upon entering the station, he found Emma sitting in her office fiddling with her cell phone.

"Hello, my love," he said brightly, smiling at her when she looked up.

"Hey," she replied. "I was just about to text you." Her eyes lit up when she saw the bag from Granny's he had balanced on his hook. "Because I was hungry."

"Lucky for you, my Swan sense was tingling," he said.

"Your Swan sense?" she asked, amused.

"Aye. It's like one of those superheroes Henry likes with the spidey sense," he said. "What's his name?"

"Spiderman," she supplied.

"Ah yes, Spiderman. He has his spidey sense that tells him when something is wrong and I have my Swan sense," he said, setting the drink carrier he'd been holding with his hand on her desk. "Which tells me when something is wrong with you. It's much more specific, you see."

"I see," she chuckled. "Grilled cheese?"

"I'm offended that you would even ask me that," he said, giving her a look of mock outrage. "I've just told you I have Swan sense and you think that I would have the nerve to bring you anything other than a grilled cheese? With onion rings, thank you very much. And did I bring you coffee? I should think not." Killian took out one of the drinks in the carrier and handed it to her. "Hot cocoa with cinnamon sprinkled on top."

"Aw, but I really felt like a coffee," she teased.

"Don't you try that with me, lass. My Swan sense has yet to let me down," he said. "But as it happens, I got myself a coffee and I would give it to you if I thought that's really what you wanted."

"Thank you," she said, moving some papers to make more room on her desk for the food. "Join me?"

"I thought you'd never ask. So how have things been here today?" he asked.

"Quiet," she shrugged. "I've just been doing some paperwork. How's the Jolly?"

"She's doing well, thank you for asking," he answered, touched that she actually cared about his precious ship. Almost as much as he did. They ate in relative silence as Killian pondered how best to approach the subject of what had been bothering her. She was in good enough spirits at the moment, but he could see the dark clouds just underneath the surface.

"So I was talking to Henry who was wondering what we were doing for Christmas," he said, after a while, noting the way her hand stilled on the way to grab an onion ring. "Are we going to your parents or staying home?"

"Um, I don't know?" she answered. "We'll figure it out."

"Hmm."

"What?" she asked.

"It was just a hmm," he replied.

"No, it wasn't. I know your hums," she said, making his eyebrow quirk.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You have different hums you use for different things and I can recognize all of them," she informed him, smirking at him. "Call it my pirate sense."

"Alright, if you're so clever, which hum did I just make?" He challenged, well aware that this may be among their most absurd conversations to date.

"That's the hum you make when you're thinking about how to bring something up," she said, stunning him.

"How could you possibly have known that was what that hum meant?" he asked.

"Pirate sense," she said.

"How many hums do I have anyway?" he asked.

"Lots."

"Hmm."

"Not that was the hum you make when you're thinking about something," she told him. "You're thinking about your hums now, aren't you?"

"I was thinking about you," he said, honestly. "But yes, now you have me thinking about my hums as well. I'd much rather talk about you, however."

"What about me?" she asked.

"Everywhere I go, I see people excited about Christmas." Her mood had been lifted during their discussion about his hums, but now he saw it change. "And yet every time I mention Christmas to you, you pull away."

"I'm not pulling away from you," she argued.

"Not from me, love," he said. "From Christmas. What is it about this holiday that makes you sad?"

"Christmas doesn't make me sad," she said, but she wouldn't meet his gaze.

"Emma." Now she sighed.

"Okay, fine. Christmas was never a happy time for me growing up, okay? Some of my foster homes didn't celebrate Christmas at all and the ones who did?" She lifted her hands before letting them drop. "There were a couple that tried to make it a happy day for us, but it's hard to be happy when it's a day about families and you don't have one."

"I'm sorry, love," Killian said, quietly. "But now you have a family who loves you. And yet it still makes you sad."

"I guess I just..." Emma shook her head as she searched for the words. "I don't how to be happy at Christmas."

"And I've never tried celebrating Christmas," he said with a sigh. "We make quite the pair, Swan. But it's alright, do you know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I am going to make this the best Christmas that you've ever had," he said. "Now, what is one thing you always wanted to do at Christmas that you never got to?"

"Gosh," she said. "I don't know where to start."

"First thing that comes to mind, then," he suggested. "Don't think, just say whatever you think of first. What is one thing you've always wanted to at Christmas?"

"Build a snowman. I...I've never built one," she answered, giving him a surprisingly shy smile. "I mean, you can do that whenever there's enough snow on the ground. It's not exclusive to Christmas. But you said to say whatever I thought of first."

"That I did," he agreed. "If you don't mind my asking, why haven't you ever built a snowman?"

"I could never get anyone to build one with me," she said, looking down. "And the one time I tried building one myself..."

"What happened?" he asked, frowning at the look of hurt on her face.

"There was a family building one across the street. They were having so much fun together, you know? And there I was, trying to build mine all alone," she said, hating that this memory was enough to feel the sting of tears. "It's stupid. I should have just built the damn snowman." She swiped at her cheek, angry that she would shed tears over something so trivial.

"That's the first thing we'll do, then," he said, gently reaching across the desk to put his hand on hers. "We'll build a snowman."

* * *

As it turned out, they didn't just build one snowman, they built two right outside of the station. Emma had thought Killian was kidding when he suggested that they go outside and build one right then. He hadn't been. The day had been quiet enough that she'd agreed.

The original plan had been to only build the one, but then Emma said they should build another so the first one didn't get lonely. She'd actually said that. Killian's tough Swan, the town Sheriff and savior had said she didn't want a snowman to feel alone. So they built one more. It was at that point that Killian told her that he would build as many snowmen with her as she wished. A town full, if she so desired.

The smile she'd given him had been the brightest smile she'd given him all week. Two would be good for the station, she'd decided. But maybe they could build another one at home? They ended up building another two. And then Henry had come home and the three of them had built one more together.

Emma still wasn't excited about Christmas, but Killian felt like he was off to a good start.

* * *

Snow inadvertently helped them with another item on Emma's Christmas wish list, as Killian had taken to calling it. He'd gotten her to tell her some of the other things she'd always wanted to do around Christmas and he'd written them all down. Checking them off as they did them.

Making Christmas cookies was one of them. Killian had been planning to call Snow to talk about it, but she ended up calling them first. Just so happening to ask if Emma and Killian wanted to come over to make Christmas cookies. They got Henry to come along, so it'd been a full family affair with Snow in charge.

At one point, Killian looked over to see Emma sitting with Neal in her lap, both of them laughing while decorating a batch of cookies. That was when Killian mentioned Emma's Christmas wish list to David, who was curious to know what else was on it and was there anything he might be able to help with?

"I'm happy you asked, mate," Killian said. "Emma's always wanted to go out into the woods and cut down a real Christmas tree to put in the house." He made a face. "I must admit I still find that particular custom to be very odd. But Emma wants a real Christmas tree so that's what she'll have. I believe we'll require your assistance."

* * *

"I think it's between that one," David said a few hours later when he, Emma and Killian had gone out into the woods by his and Snow's house. He pointed at one of the trees they'd been looking at. "Or that one."

"Which one do you think, love?" Killian asked his wife. Not that Killian could tell a difference between the two trees himself, but he wasn't about to admit that to either of them. He watched Emma look back and forth between the two, her lips pursed in thought.

"That one." It was to be the first one David had pointed at.

"I was hoping you'd pick that one," David said.

"Why?" Emma asked.

"Because I was thinking that I want the other one for us," he replied.

"Hold on," Killian spoke up. "We're bringing two trees back?"

"Not at the same time," David said, as if that was supposed to make this new development more appealing somehow. "We'll put yours in my truck. And since you're all already here, how about you help us get decorate ours once we get it up?"

"You want us to help decorate your tree?" Emma asked, her voice suddenly sounding a little husky.

"Of course I do," David said. "It wouldn't be the same without you guys. It'll be fun, we'll throw on some Christmas music and make a party out of it. Sound good?"

"That sounds really good, Dad," Emma said. Decorating a Christmas tree with her family was another of the items on Emma's wish list and Killian knew that it was one of the most important. What made this better in Killian's eyes was that he hadn't mentioned that part of it to his father-in-law. He hadn't missed the look of longing that had appeared in David's eyes when he asked. Killian imagined that this was a wish that all the members of the Nolan family had. And it would finally come true.

* * *

"Let's review, my love." It was the following evening and Emma and Killian were sitting on their couch with all of the lights in their house turned off, enjoying the fire in their fireplace. Along with their recently decorated Christmas tree that stood a safe distance away. After decorating the one tree at the Nolan house, they'd all come to Emma and Killian's house to help them decorate theirs the night before. "We've built snowmen and we've made Christmas cookies. We had a snowball fight." He shot Emma a look. "That I still say I won."

"You wish," she quipped. "I kicked your butt."

"Hardly," he argued. "But if it makes you feel better to think that, so be it."

"I kicked your butt," she repeated.

"In any event." Killian shot her another look that made her giggle. "I think we're doing quite nicely. Now what would you like to do next? It's too late to go sledding though, I'm afraid. Tomorrow, perhaps? We could go after work."

"Tomorrow's good," Emma agreed. "Could we go ice skating too?" The question made Killian smile. This little project had seemed to awaken the little kid in Emma and he thought it was adorable. More importantly, Emma seemed to become a little more excited for Christmas with each item they checked off.

"Of course, we can," he said. "So what else is there?"

"I don't know what else is left on the list you made, but I think I just thought of a new one," she told him, piquing his interest.

"And what's that, Swan?" he asked.

"I was just thinking about how romantic it is to be sitting here by our fire and our tree," she began, smiling as she looked at their beautiful tree.

"It's very romantic," he agreed. Killian had a feeling he was going to like where this was going.

"And Henry is with Regina, so we have the house all to ourselves," she continued.

"We do, indeed," he nodded. "So whatever shall we do about it?"

"I think it would be a shame to waste such a romantic atmosphere," she said, seriously.

"A crime, really, if you think about it," he said, matching her tone.

"And I mean, we're kind of the law in this town, so we probably shouldn't be committing any crimes," she went on.

"An excellent point, my love," he said.

"So I think that you should come a little closer," she suggested.

"Like this?" he asked, leaning in just a bit closer to her.

"Closer," she decided, smiling when he leaned in a little farther. "Closer," she murmured, closing her eyes. "Just a little bit more." Their lips met in a tender kiss. And another before Emma laid back on their couch, pulling Killian down with her. Their kisses were deep and slow and Emma had felt Killian's hand sliding underneath her sweater, the calluses on his fingers rough against the soft skin of her stomach.

But then somehow his hook had gotten tangled up in her sweater and he'd had to yank it free, throwing himself off balance in the process. They ended up tumbling off the couch and landing with a thud between it and their coffee table.

"Okay, that didn't work," Killian muttered.

"What, you didn't mean to knock us off the couch?" Emma asked, giggling.

"Are you laughing at me, Swan?" he asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

"Yes," she managed, bringing her hand to brush some off his hair away from his forehead. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, love," he assured her. "Are you?"

"Yeah, thanks to you. Thanks for breaking my fall, babe," she said.

"Don't mention it," he said, dryly. "Now as much as I'd like to resume our previous activities, I'm not so sure this is the place to do it."

"Not this side of the coffee table," Emma agreed, sitting up on her knees and then standing up. She offered him her hands, helping to pull him up. "Come here." She tugged him over to the other side of the table

"Would you like me to take you upstairs, my love?" Killian asked.

"No," she said, looping her arms around his neck. "I want you to take me right here."

"As you wish," he replied, kissing her.

* * *

Killian grinned to himself as he watched Emma humming as she worked in her office. They'd made love in front of their fireplace, making a point to take their time. Killian thought they should take their time far more often. It was always different when they did. When they took the time to learn each other's bodies all over again. They'd sufficiently worn each other out and fallen asleep, wrapped up in each other's arms in front of the then dying fire. Killian had woken up some time later and carried a still sleeping Emma up their bedroom.

And had brought her breakfast in bed that morning. He'd gone with one of their favorites: pancakes. Killian had been inspired to use one of their cookie cutters as a mold for the pancakes so they had been the shape of Christmas trees. He'd then sprinkled some powdered sugar on top. He'd briefly wondered if Emma would think he had lost his mind, but instead he'd been surprised when she'd looked up at him with shining eyes.

Emma had been so touched that he would grow through the trouble, even though he'd tried to tell her that it hadn't been much trouble at all. It was the truth; it hadn't been. But she still wasn't used to having anyone even think to do something like that for her. Now she was humming while she worked, smiling to herself every so often when she thought about it.

Killian liked when she hummed to herself and had been delighted whenever he got close enough to hear what song she was humming. It was always a Christmas song. He'd heard snippets of at least three throughout the day.

It appeared that he might have helped his Swan locate her Christmas spirit. But he was still going to make sure every remaining thing on her Christmas wish list happened.

Now, they'd wrapped up at the office for the day and left to go do one of them. They were going to go sledding.

* * *

"Are you okay?" The fact that Emma had somehow gotten the question out during an uncontrollable giggle fit was quite the feat. She'd just watched her husband go careening down a hill on a sled - or an instrument of torture, as he'd just referred to it. Killian had not expected the sled to race down the hill the way it had. Nor did he expect to end up crashing directly into a bush.

The shriek he had emitted upon flying into said bush had been a sound she had never heard him make before. Ever. He had sounded so eerily like his cartoon counterpart that Emma had completely lost it. She'd been desperately trying to pull herself together while a string of curses came out of Killian's mouth while he tried to untangle himself from the bush.

"I should probably be asking you that," he answered. He had no idea that sledding would be such a harrowing experience when he'd agreed and now he was quite certain that he would never subject himself to this insanity ever again. His wife laughing like a complete loon at his misfortune felt like an added insult to injury. It also made it impossible for him to stay annoyed.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "It really wasn't that funny."

"Could have fooled me, Swan," he said, his lips twitching despite his best efforts.

"That scream, oh my God. I should have been filming," she managed, forcing herself to talk a deep breath to try to get a hold of herself. And succeeding. For about five seconds. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine, love. Just go ahead and enjoy yourself. I, on the other hand, may need to hunt down a bandage. Or fifteen," he said, experimentally touching his face for damages.

Emma sobered some as she took a good look at his face, noticing a few scratches. "Here, let me," she said, still giggling a little as she went to him.

"Do you think you can control yourself enough to even use your magic?" he asked, amused when she snorted.

Yes, I..." That was all she could get out before another burst of giggles came out. She pressed her head to his shoulder while she slowly got herself back under control. "Whew." Emma had tears in her eyes when she looked at him again. "Okay, I can do this."

"Hmm."

"Don't you dare," she warned, her lips quivering again. "Just stay still and...and maybe keep your eyes closed." At his quirked eyebrow, she nearly lost it again. "I can't look you in the eye right now, okay? Now close your eyes so I can fix your face."

"For heaven's sake," he muttered, unable to stop from smiling as he closed his eyes. He heard Emma blow out some air, he supposed as a way to ensure that she was calm enough to focus. A moment later he felt her forehead against his and her gloved hands on his cheeks. There was a feeling of warmth and the pain from his scrapes dissipated as her magic healed them.

"There," she said, brushing her lips against his. "All better."

"May it never be said that I don't keep you entertained," he said, laughing a little himself now as he opened his eyes.

"You definitely do," she grinned at him. "So about that ice skating..."

* * *

As far as winter activities went, Killian had to say that he might just prefer ice skating over the rest. There were no thorn filled bushes for him to go flying into, so that was already an improvement. It had, admittedly taken him a while to get used to it, but it'd given him an excuse to hold onto his Swan.

Not like he needed an excuse for that. Once he did get the hang of it, he rather enjoyed it. Based on the smile on his wife's face while they kept going in circles around the ice, he'd say that she enjoyed it too. This was something that they'd definitely be doing again.

* * *

When Emma was a little girl, one of the first things she thought when she woke up on Christmas was that it was Christmas. And she was alone. There were rarely ever any presents for her on Christmas and there were even less hugs. For some reason, Emma had always imagined how nice it would be to have someone to hug on Christmas. To have someone who loved her be with her on that day. It was something she had always wished she would have someday, not actually believing that she ever would. She certainly didn't growing up. So she had never looked forward to waking up on Christmas. Often wishing that she might sleep right through it. It always caused her too much pain. Especially whenever she would catch glimpses of happy families who clearly loved each other. Christmas has only ever served to make her feel sad and alone.

That was no longer the case.

Emma woke up smiling on Christmas Day. This year she had been woken up by the feel of Killian's lips gently kissing hers. "Killian," she whispered his name, smiling against his mouth. She quickly decided that this was the perfect way to be woken on Christmas.

"Merry Christmas, my love," he said, tenderly.

"Merry Christmas, Captain," she said back, her heart full.

* * *

Emma was feeling playful as they pulled up to the farmhouse to join up with the rest of their family. So when Killian was heading unlock the trunk to get the presents they'd brought for her parents and Neal, she crouched down and grabbed some snow to make a snowball and threw it at him.

Only to have it hit Henry instead. Killian had bent over to grab the presents at exactly the right time. The snowball had flown right over him and hit poor unsuspecting Henry.

"Mom!" Henry gasped in shock.

"Sorry Kid," Emma said quickly. "I was aiming for Killian."

"I beg your pardon?" Killian asked, straightening to turn to her. And immediately getting hit in the back by a snowball. "Hey!" Killian whirled around to face Henry.

"I was aiming for Mom," Henry said. Killian looked between his wife and stepson for a minute as if debating. He then shot Emma what could only be described as an evil grin before looking at Henry.

"It seems to me that your mother is the problem here, my boy," he said.

"She started it," Henry agreed, nodding.

"Okay, hold on," Emma said, instinctively backing up when they both rounded on her. "Shouldn't we get inside?"

"Ah, so she starts a fight and then tries to back out of it. Not on my watch, lass," Killian smirked, glancing at Henry. "I say we get her."

"I agree," Henry nodded. Before Emma knew what was happening, she was getting pelted with snowballs and trying to use the Bug as a shield as she lobbed some back.

"We've got you, Swan. You may want to quit," Killian teased.

"You wish!" she cried.

"You're outnumbered, Mom," Henry pointed out.

"Oh, no she's not!" None of them had seen David come out of the house. Now he hurled snowballs at Killian and Henry as he dashed to Emma's side.

"Dad!" Emma cheered. It was officially on. This was no regular snowball fight. It was war. Emma and David against Killian and Henry. Snowballs were flying through the air, neither side willing to forfeit.

And then it happened.

"What in the world is going on out here?" Snow asked, making the fatal mistake of stepping out in the middle of the war zone. And taking a snowball right in the face.

Silence filled the battlefield.

"Who threw that?" Snow demanded.

"Uh, I believe that was me," Killian spoke up, rather sheepishly. He winced when she turned her attention to him. "I was aiming for your husband."

"You, uh, you did kind of walk out into the middle of a battlefield, Grandma," Henry said, quick to defend his teammate.

"I suppose I have just one more question, then," Snow announced. "Is this a snowball fight or a tea party?"

"What?" Killian asked. A second before her snowball hit him in the face.

"Quick piece of advice Killian," Snow smirked at him. "Never throw a snowball at Snow White."

* * *

The snowball fight had been absolute chaos. For a while it had been Emma, David and Snow against Killian and Henry, but then it devolved into everyone out for themselves. Then there was the additional insanity caused by Wilby, the Nolan's dog, coming out to join the fray. The only family member missing from battle was little Neal. War had been waged during his naptime.

An overall truce had eventually been called and they'd all headed inside where gifts were exchanged.

It was sometime during dinner when Emma realized that she'd finally found her Christmas spirit after a lifetime of little to no Christmas spirit. She'd gotten a little closer as her and Killian had worked their way through her Christmas wish list.

Building snowmen. Baking Christmas cookies. Snowball fights. Picking out a real Christmas tree. Decorating it with her family. Making love with her husband in front of a fire. Sledding. Ice Skating. Her day starting off with a kiss. Presents exchanged and given. And hugs. There were lots of hugs.

But it was while she was finally enjoying a delicious Christmas dinner with her family that she knew. She had her husband sitting beside her on one side and her dad on the other. Henry sat across from her with Neal in his highchair next to him. With her mom between Neal and Killian. All the people she loved most in the world gathered together to celebrate Christmas. And she knew.

Emma had finally found Christmas. Her Christmas wish list was complete. 


	8. Mischievous Matchmaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: matchmaker
> 
> AU. There was a time when Emma would've just gone for it, but she couldn't afford to do that now. A decision was about to be made regarding her possible promotion and she had to focus all her efforts on that. Not on trying to strike up a romance with the guy across the hall. 
> 
> Leia, on the other hand, had plans of her own. 

"Leia, come back!" Emma Swan cried as she chased after her golden retriever. She'd taken her dog out for a what she had hoped would be a nice leisurely walk for both of them. Work had been stressful lately and she'd wanted to take some time to unwind. It was chilly out; it was fall in Boston, for heaven's sake. But it was a nice day otherwise, so Emma had decided to walk to the public garden. Maybe walk around the pond.  
  
The walk had started off leisurely enough, but then a crazy person on bicycle had zoomed past her and Emma had tripped in her attempt to get out of its way. The leash had slipped out of her grasp as she fell and Leia had taken off running like an absolute lunatic. So now Emma had a banged up knee and a dog to chase after. So much for any kind of relaxation.  
  
"Leia!" Emma yelled as she approached the pond, spotting her dog running up a man with a camera. "Leia!" She knew her golden had heard her, but she'd apparently decided that she would much rather make a new friend than pay her owner any kind of attention. Leia barked at the man with the camera, who set it down and looked at her.   
  
"Well, hello there!" Emma heard the man say as she drew closer. He had a pleasant speaking voice and what sounded like an Irish accent. Possibly English. "Are you friendly?" The man asked, offering his hand to Leia, who promptly began licking it. "I guess so," he laughed. "And just where did you come from?"  
  
"Leia!" Emma called.  
  
The man turned at the sound of her voice and Emma could've sworn that her heart skipped a beat. He was one of the most handsome men that Emma had ever seen. He had thick dark hair, a trim physique and quite possibly the bluest eyes she had ever seen in real life. And, as she found out a second later, a friendly smile.   
  
In other words? He was hot. Ridiculously so, in Emma's opinion. And her dog had made him her new best friend.   
  
"Is this your dog, then?" he asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," Emma said. "That's Leia."  
  
"It's nice to meet you, Leia," the man said to Leia, who was now sitting down. "Do you know how to shake?"   
  
"Oh, she's still learning," Emma said. "She's still a pup-" The word died in mouth as Leia lifted her paw for the man to shake. "Are you kidding me?" At the man's puzzled look, Emma went on. "I can never get her to shake!"  
  
"Ah well, that's because the two of you are already acquainted," the man said, grinning at her. His grin was better than his first smile had been. "But she's only just met me so she wanted to introduce herself. And now that I've met her, might I have the pleasure of meeting her owner, as well?"  
  
Emma stared blankly at him for a few moments before it occurred to her that that was his way of asking her for her name. _Get it together, Swan_ , she thought to herself. "Uh, I'm Emma," she said, finally.  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well, then, Emma," he said, now offering her his hand. "Killian Jones, at your service."

* * *

It had been a week since Emma had had to chase Leia down. A week since she'd met Killian Jones. The two of them had chatted for a while longer. Emma had learned that he was still relatively new to the country. He'd come over from Ireland a few months prior and had been staying with his older brother, Liam, who had moved to Boston about a year ago. He'd mentioned that he'd been looking for his own place which had led to Emma mentioning that there were a few vacancies in her own building.  
  
Emma generally wasn't quick to share where she lived with strangers, but she'd found herself telling him about her building in spite of herself. She'd wondered about the wisdom of this move later. Then again what were the odds that he'd end up actually moving into her building? He'd been on his way to check out an apartment that afternoon and, for all Emma knew, maybe he'd ended up taking it.   
  
In any event, she'd caught herself thinking about him off and on throughout the week. He was undoubtedly trouble. She knew that because she'd been instantly attracted to him and nothing good had ever come from that. But then again, it wasn't like Boston was a small town. She'd probably never see him again.  
  
A pity, really. Because the probability of him being bad news aside, he was quite fun to look at.  
  
It was with some surprise when she was walking Leia down the street and her golden had suddenly started tugging on the leash like a crazy animal. Emma was stunned to see her heading directly for one Killian Jones. Apparently, Leia had spotted him and decided that she simply must go say hello.   
  
"Hello again, Leia," Killian greeted her, laughing when she jumped up on him. Getting her wet paws all over his nice coat.  
  
"Leia, get down," Emma chided, giving Killian an embarrassed smile as he scratched Leia's ears. "I'm so sorry!"  
  
"It's quite alright," Killian assured her. "I love dogs." That was a definite point in his favor, Emma thought. "It's nice to see you both again."  
  
"You too," Emma said. "How's the apartment hunt going?"  
  
"Not well," Killian admitted. "Liam says I'm far too picky. I'd just as well find a place I like."  
  
"Seems perfectly reasonable to me," she offered.  
  
"I'll be sure to tell him you think so," Killian said, his eyes twinkling. It should be illegal to have eyes like that, Emma thought dimly.   
  
"Well, I don't want to keep you," Emma said. "I, oh!" She'd taken a step to leave, not realizing that sometime during the time she'd been pondering the legality of a man having such blue eyes, Leia had managed to wind her leash around Emma's legs. Emma had taken that one step and found herself falling forward.  
  
Right into Killian's arms and, holy crap, he smelled good. Emma supposed that her first thought should have been that she should apologize, but then she'd been assaulted by the intoxicating scent of his cologne. "Alright there, lass?" He asked.  
  
"Uh, yeah," she said after what felt like far too long. _Unless you count the fact that I'm currently trying not to melt into a puddle of hormones,_ she thought. Emma couldn't quite understand the effect this man had on her. "Sorry, again."  
  
"It's perfectly fine," he said, laughing.  
  
"I'll just untangle myself here," Emma said, working to unwrap Leia's leash from around her legs. "It was nice seeing you again."  
  
"You as well," Killian said, his smile warming. How many different smiles did this man have, Emma wondered. This newest one was a panty dropper.  
  
And Emma seriously needed to get a hold of herself. So she'd run into him again. Didn't mean it would happen again.

* * *

It was nearly December and there'd been no further incidents. Leia had not managed to find Killian again and Emma had lost hope that she would.  
  
Not that she cared about seeing Killian for a third time. Not like she'd continue to find him drifting into her thoughts every so often. It just wasn't often that you met a hot Irishman, that was all. Not to mention one who loved dogs. Not that she needed an Irishman in her life, hot or otherwise. Not that she needed any man in her life. Her last relationship had crashed and burned quite spectacularly just after New Year's. Emma had been single ever since.  
  
That was the problem, right there. She'd been single and it'd been months since she'd set foot in a club. She just couldn't seem to drag up the energy to go clubbing anymore. She had a great job at an advertising agency and that kept her busy. That and she was getting older. She would be thirty next year.  
  
It seemed like Emma was far more content having a nice, relaxing night at home than going out these days. A fact that seemed to frustrate one of her best friends, Mary Margaret Nolan, who insisted that Emma should go out and find herself a nice man. Emma had tried to tell her that she wasn't looking for a relationship and that was the truth.  
  
Nor was she looking for a meaningless hookup. Emma just wasn't interested in finding a man right now. Was that such a crime? She didn't think so. Besides, she'd just learned that she was up for a promotion at work. This was hardly the time to add a man into the mix.   
  
Still, Emma found her thoughts beginning to drift towards Killian every so often. She couldn't seem to help herself.   
  
Emma was shaken out of her reverie as she headed towards her apartment, grocery bag in hand. The door to the apartment across from hers was partway open and Emma remembered hearing that someone had finally moved in. She would miss the sweet couple who lived their previously, but they'd recently moved out of the building and into a house after finding out that were having triplets.   
  
Emma should probably think about introducing herself to her new neighbor at some point, but right now she needed to get inside and put her groceries away. She unlocked her door and went inside, kicking at the door with her foot to close it. Not realizing that it didn't close all the way.   
  
"Leia, I'm home!" she called, going to set her bag of groceries on her counter. "Leia?" Emma turned around just in time to see Leia dart out of the apartment. "Oh, for crying out loud," she muttered, hurrying to follow her. "Leia!" She saw her dog disappear into the apartment across the hall and cursed under her breath. "Leia! Come back here!"  
  
"Why, Leia! What a pleasant surprise this is!"  
  
It couldn't be.   
  
"Emma?"  
  
It was.

Emma's jaw dropped as she watched Killian Jones come into view. Looking as handsome as ever. What was it about this man that took her breath away? "Is this your new apartment?" she asked, stunned.

"Aye, it is," he nodded. "I remembered you telling me that there were some vacancies and since I was having no luck elsewhere, I decided to come check it out."  
  
"And you obviously liked it," Emma said.  
  
"I did, yes," he said. "I never imagined that we'd be on the same floor."  
  
"Uh yeah." Emma jerked her thumb back at her apartment. "That's me. Sorry Leia broke in."  
  
"It's fine," Killian laughed. "She's making herself at home on my couch," he added, making Emma's eyes bug in horror.  
  
"Tell me you're kidding," she said.  
  
"Come in and see for yourself," he said, gesturing for her to come in. Emma hesitated for a moment before coming in and looking to where Killian was pointing. There, right in the middle of his very comfortable looking couch, was Leia. Looking quite pleased with herself.  
  
"Leia!" Emma groaned, wincing as she looked back at Killian. "I'm so sorry."  
  
"No need to apologize," he assured her. "I don't mind. Truly."  
  
"She usually doesn't break into people's apartments," Emma said, quickly. "I don't know what's gotten into her."  
  
"Why, we've become friends, of course," Killian said, surprising Emma by sitting next to Leia on the couch and petting her. "She was just welcoming me to the building, weren't you girl? Yeah, you just wanted to say hello, yes you did," Emma watched as Leia's tail wagged while she started licking his face.  
  
Emma wouldn't mind licking him herself.   
  
It was with that wildly inappropriate thought that Emma realized that she needed to get out of there. "Well, I better get Leia out of your hair. She hasn't had her dinner yet."  
  
"Very well. I do hope you won't be a stranger," Killian said.  
  
"Me or Leia?" Emma asked, making him laugh again.  
  
"Both of you," he said. He stood and walked back to her, Leia promptly jumping off the couch and following him. Killian surprised Emma by grabbing her hand and lifting it to his lips. "It's so nice to see you again, Emma. I look forward to the chance to get to know you better."  
  
"Welcome to the building," she said, breathlessly. "Come on, uh." Emma frowned as she tried to think. The feel of Killian's lips on her hand seemed to have temporarily short-circuited her brain. "Leia! That's her name. Leia. Uh, come on, Leia." She gave Killian and awkward wave and headed back to her apartment, Leia in tow.   
  
Upon reentering her apartment, Emma leaned back again the closed door and closed her eyes. She'd actually forgotten her dog's name in front of the hot Irishman she hadn't been able to stop thinking about. And who now lived directly across the hall from her.  
  
_Smooth, Swan_ , she thought. _Real smooth_. 

* * *

Over the next couple of weeks, Emma would run into Killian every so often. In the hall. In the elevator. Every single time, Leia saw him she would have to fuss all over him as if she hadn't seen him in years. Leia was a typical golden in that she seemed to want to be friends with everyone she met, but she seemed to have a special affinity for Killian. If Emma didn't know better, she'd say that Leia had a bit of a crush on him.   
  
Or maybe that was just her.   
  
Emma kept trying to remind herself that the last thing she needed was a man, but she couldn't deny the way her stomach always seemed to fill with butterflies whenever she saw him. It didn't help that he was always so friendly and he seemed to really like Leia.  
  
Emma wasn't going to delude herself into thinking that Killian was interested in her. He seemed to like her well enough, but she seriously doubted that it was much more than that. But then one day, she'd decided that she wanted to get a small Christmas tree.   
  
She hadn't thought about how annoying it would be to carry said tree home. She'd been trying to avoid hitting anyone with it when she heard a voice calling her name. It was Killian. He'd been on his way home when he saw her struggling. He'd helped her get it up to her apartment and set it up. Leia had been over the moon to see him - ignore that she'd seen him when Emma had left to take her on her morning walk. But she'd immediately started jumping all over Killian while completely ignoring Emma.   
  
That was when Emma had decided to ask if Killian felt like helping her decorate her tree, too. It wasn't because she wanted to spend more time with him. It was that she knew that it would get done so much faster if she had some help. At least that's what she told herself.  
  
Killian agreed and they'd had fun decorating her tree. At some point, he suggested ordering a pizza and that had sounded good to her. They talked quite a bit as they worked and ate and later, Killian even joined Emma and Leia on their evening walk. Much to Leia's delight, Emma was sure.  
  
Maybe much to her own delight as well. 

* * *

Killian was just a friend. Emma kept having to remind herself of that. They hung out every so often and were forming what Emma thought would be a solid friendship. He was funny and interesting and Emma found him very easy to talk to after a while. When she could ignore her insane attraction to him, that is. Their friendship had progressed to where they'd each given the other their spare key to their apartment in the event of an emergency.   
  
But they were just friends. It wasn't anything more than that.   
  
It wasn't.  
  
Really.  
  
And then something happened.

* * *

Emma had come home after walking Leia to find a package waiting for her. Only when she looked at it, it was really meant for Killian. She took it upstairs for him, thinking she might as well. She tried knocking on his door, but he didn't answer.   
  
When Emma would look back on this incident, she would have just taken the package into her apartment and given it to her later. But she'd been worried that it might be something important, so she decided to use her spare key. Her plan was to leave it just inside his door.   
  
In hindsight, the other thing she would have done differently was to put Leia in her apartment first. Because of course Leia would trot into Killian's apartment while Emma made the fatal mistake of loosening her grip on the leash as she was setting the package down. "Leia, come back here!"  
  
Emma sighed as she followed her dog, watching as the golden headed into a room. There was the sound of a surprised curse, followed by laughter. And then Killian had walked out of what was apparently his bathroom. In a towel. Evidently, he'd been taking a shower and that's why he hadn't come to the door.   
  
Upon witnessing Killian in this state, Emma's first thought was something along the lines of _hot damn_. Her second thought was more along the lines of _holy crap_.   
  
It was probably a good thing that Emma had already set the box for him down before he'd shown up because otherwise she would have dropped it. With her luck, there would be something breakable in there.   
  
"Hello," Killian said, sounding surprisingly cheerful for a guy who had just had a golden retriever barge in on him in the bathroom with no warning.  
  
Suddenly, Emma didn't know where to look. "Um, there was a package for you waiting for me. They...they got the apartment numbers mixed up and I tried knocking, but you didn't answer. So I decided to just leave it inside, by the door, but then Leia had to come in and surprise you. And I'm so sorry." The words came out in a rush. "For, um, breaking in and, um, for Leia barging in while you were, well. In there," Emma pointed vaguely in the direction of the bathroom, still trying to look anywhere but at his bare chest. "And I'm just going to go. I'm sorry."  
  
With that she turned to go, missing the grin that had appeared on Killian's face. "Uh, Emma?"  
  
"What?" she asked, positive that her face must be beet red by this point.  
  
"Forgetting someone?" he asked.  
  
"What?" Emma turned around and he nodded towards Leia. "Oh! Leia, come here." She patted at her thigh, relieved when Leia actually came to her. "I'll, um, see you later, Killian. I'm sorry again."  
  
With that, she hurried out with Leia in tow. "We seriously need to have a chat about your manners," Emma muttered to her golden as she unlocked her door and went inside. "You gotta stop breaking into Killian's apartment. Okay?"  
  
_And I have to stop finding new ways to make an idiot out of myself_ , she thought. 

* * *

Emma made a solid effort at avoiding Killian in the days following that. She just didn't know how she was supposed to look him in the eye without seeing him in that damn towel. Especially since seeing him in said towel had led to some rather steamy dreams. She didn't know how she'd ever be able to look at him again without blushing.  
  
There was a time when Emma would've just gone for it, but she couldn't afford to do that now. A decision was about to be made regarding her possible promotion and she had to focus all her efforts on that. Not on trying to strike up a romance with the guy across the hall.   
  
Leia, on the other hand, had plans of her own. 

* * *

Emma and Leia had just gotten off the elevator and were heading to the apartment when who did they see? Killian. Of course.  
  
"Hey Swan," he said, brightly. "And hello Leia!" Killian leaned over to scratch her ears as she jumped on him. "Haven't seen you two in a few days."  
  
"We've been busy," Emma said, studiously avoiding his gaze. "Look Killian, I really am sorry about what happened the other day. I had no business just barging into your apartment."  
  
"Emma. Look at me." Crap. Emma bit her lip before forcing herself to look at him. Willing her cheeks to stay their normal color. "It's okay. There was no harm done. You don't need to keep avoiding me."  
  
That was a matter of debate, she thought. "I'm not avoiding you," Emma argued. At his eyebrow lift in response to this, she sighed. "Maybe a little."  
  
"Well, you don't have to," he assured her. "It's fine."  
  
"You're awfully easygoing, you know that?" She asked after a moment.   
  
"Only when it comes to a lasses as beautiful as you," he said.  
  
Crap.   
  
"Yeah, well. I'm still sorry," she said. "I...whoa!"   
  
Somehow Leia had managed to get behind Emma without her realizing it as she was talking to Killian. And because her golden had gone completely insane, Leia had decided it would be fun to jump up on Emma. Shoving her directly into Killian.   
  
"I seem to be having a strange sense of deja vu," Killian joked.  
  
"Yeah," Emma agreed, hating how breathy the word had come out. "Me too."

* * *

Somehow getting pushed into Killian had broken the ice, in an odd way. Emma decided that she needed to grow up and stop avoiding him. Lest her golden decide to shove her at him every time they happened to see him. Besides, they'd started laughing about how Leia seemed to enjoy getting them into awkward situations. So when Killian asked Emma if she would stop be the next day to help him decorate his Christmas tree, she agreed.  
  
She could do this, Emma thought. She could ignore her, frankly, enormous attraction for him and just be his friend.   
  
Only when she went over to help him with his tree, they'd ended up talking late into the night. In fact, they ended up fallen asleep. Emma, with her head on Killian's shoulder. And Leia, because of course Leia had had to come over too, had fallen asleep by Killian's Christmas tree.  
  
The next morning, Emma had woken up to find herself curled up on his couch with a blanket over her. And a note for her left on his coffee table saying that he'd taken Leia out for her morning walk so Emma could get more sleep. She'd just been deciding what on earth she should do now, when she heard his apartment door open. It turned out that Killian had returned, not just with Leia, but with some coffee and donuts.  
  
He'd confused Emma's look of astonishment with concern. He'd assured her that he'd made sure that Leia's leash had been properly tied to a lamppost and he'd kept an eye on her while he was getting their food.  
  
Not realizing that Emma hadn't even thought about where Leia would've been while he was doing that. Instead, she'd been hung up on the idea that Killian would think to bring her back coffee and donuts. And come to the conclusion that was developing real feelings for him.  
  
She'd known he was trouble the first time she met him.

* * *

Emma was in a fantastic mood. It was a few days before Christmas and she'd just found out that she'd gotten the promotion. She'd tried calling some of her friends to tell them the news, but none of them answered. So she'd decided to knock on Killian's door to tell him.   
  
That was when she ended up making her most idiotic move to date.   
  
She'd been so excited about her promotion and Killian had seemed so genuinely happy for her. Before she knew what she was doing, she'd grabbed him and planted a kiss on him. She simply hadn't been able to help herself.   
  
She'd pulled away to find him looking utterly stunned. And instantly began asking herself just what the hell she thought she was doing. She'd made a complete fool of herself.   
  
And probably just ruined her friendship with Killian in the process.

* * *

It was Christmas day. Emma had spent part of the day with the Nolans - Mary Margaret, her husband David and their son Leo. They were some of her oldest friends and she enjoyed being with them. Emma didn't have a family of her own and the Nolans had more or less adopted her into theirs.  
  
She'd said her goodbyes, gave them all one more hug and headed back to her apartment. Now she was talking Leia out for her evening walk. She headed towards the park, to the place where she'd fallen trying to avoid that bicyclist. She'd just been thinking how nice it was that there weren't any crazy bicyclists around when she slipped on a patch of ice. Seriously?  
  
History would choose to repeat itself, Emma thought, annoyed as the leash fell out of her grip and Leia took off. For crying out loud. Emma managed to get to her feet and took off after her dog.  
  
"Leia!" she called. "Leia,come back!"  
  
Once again, Emma ended up by the pond. And once again, she watched her golden retriever approach a man. It couldn't be.   
  
It was.  
  
"Hello Leia," he cooed to the errant golden retriever, picking up her leash. "I've missed you."  
  
"Killian?" Emma called, hesitantly, as she walked up to him.  
  
"I was hoping you'd show up," Killian said, looking at her intently.  
  
"You...you were?" Emma asked.  
  
"Aye," he nodded. "I know you usually walk her around this time. I was hoping I might catch you."  
  
"Oh," she said, stupidly. What was she supposed to make of that?  
  
"I really wish you hadn't run away after you kissed me," Killian said, taking a step towards her.  
  
"I shouldn't have done that," Emma stammered. "I just got caught up in the moment."  
  
"And here I was hoping that you might have feelings for me," Killian said, softly.  
  
"What?" Emma whispered.  
  
"I said," he began, taking her hands in his. "That I was hoping that you might have feelings for me."  
  
"You...you were?"   
  
"I was," he confirmed, stepping just a little bit closer. "Because I most certainly have feelings for you."  
  
"You," Emma gulped. "You do?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"So, um, what do you want to do about them?" she asked, surprising herself.  
  
"This." Killian let go of her hands to frame her face with his. He looked deeply into her eyes before lightly pressing his lips to hers, pulling back after a moment as if to gauge her reaction.  
  
Emma couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face and he returned it. As they both leaned in for another kiss, Emma absently thought that that smile he'd just given her might just be her new favorite of his. She felt his hands slide into her hair while she let herself sink into his sweet kiss. For a while it seemed as if time had stopped and that they were the only two people left in the world. Emma wrapped her arms around him and relished in the way his lips were moving against hers. Somehow along the way it began to snow, but she barely noticed it. There was only Killian and his kiss.   
  
And Leia.

* * *

 _Christmas Day, 2 Years Later_  
  
  
Emma and Killian had been a couple for the last two years, ever since they had shared that magical kiss on Christmas. It had been a wonderful two years.  
  
Now Emma was curled up next to him on the couch in the apartment that they now shared. "Hey, where's Leia?" Killian asked suddenly.  
  
"Uh, I don't know," Emma said, frowning a little. "Leia? Come here, girl!" The golden retriever appeared a minute later. "Here she is, she must've..." Emma trailed off as she noticed something fastened to Leia's collar. "What's that?" She gave Killian an odd look.   
  
"I don't know," he said thoughtfully, patting his thighs to get Leia to come over to him. "What's this, then?" There was something tied to the collar and now he untied it. "Oh, yes, I remember now. It's your last Christmas present." He held it up to show Emma and she gasped.  
  
"Killian..."  
  
It was a diamond ring.  
  
"I've something that I need to ask you, love," Killian said.   
  
"Killian," Emma repeated, breathless now.  
  
"But first, I need to tell you a story," he said, pretending like she hadn't spoken. "About a man who found himself in Boston. One day, this man was at a beautiful park taking pictures when he was approached by a friendly golden retriever named Leia. And Leia was owned by the most beautiful woman that the man had ever seen."  
  
"Killian." Tears were rolling down Emma's cheeks as he spoke.  
  
"Leia apparently knew something that the man and woman did not, for she kept finding ways to bring them together. Almost as if she were a matchmaker set on making a most perfect match. And that's what she did. And so it seemed only fitting that she be a part of this." Killian's eyes were shining as he continued. "Emma Swan, will you marry me?"  
  
"Yes," she whispered. "Yes, Killian, yes!" Emma waited for him to slide the ring on her trembling finger before dragging his lips to hers. This Christmas kiss was even more magical than their last. Once more, there was only Emma and Killian and their kiss.  
  
And Leia.  
  
Their mischievous matchmaker.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make Emma's dog Leia a golden because I used to have a golden retriever name Luna (Luna Lovepup, to be precise. Yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan.) Luna was the sweetest dog I've ever had. In fairness to the other dogs I've had, they've all been sweet dogs. Including the one I have now. But out of all of the them, Luna was the sweetest. She was a typical golden in that she wanted to make friends with every single person on earth. She passed away very unexpectedly a few years ago, a week before what would've been her 8th birthday. I've been missing her lately and felt like doing a tribute of sorts. 
> 
> Luna may have never introduced me to a hot Irishman, but she was truly a wonderful animal. Love and miss you, girl.


	9. Rescue Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: military/emergency rescuer
> 
> This is an AU where Killian is a firefighter who comes to Emma's aid. And Mary Margaret is super embarrassing. But it's just because she loves her friend and wants her to be happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Full disclosure: I was rushing to get this one finished in time. I may be going back in once I've gotten the remaining ones finished and fixing some things.

Emma Swan was trapped. She'd woken to the smell of smoke and the sound of sirens. Her apartment building was on fire. She'd jammed her feet into the first part of shoes she saw and headed for her front door, backing off after touching it. It was hot. She'd always been told never to go out a hot door.

So she'd hastily grabbed some towels, got them wet, and then stuffed them at the bottom of the door in an attempt to block out the smoke. Had done the same with the door to her bedroom, making sure to seal it as well as she could before calling 911. She told the operator that she was trapped and where. Now she opened her bedroom window. Sticking her head out of it, she looked out at all the chaos below. Emergency vehicles, firefighters, residents of the building huddled in groups. And waited.

Emma had just convinced herself that she was not going to be rescued, that she would die in this fire, when she saw a ladder being put under her window. Her heart leapt as she watched the firefighter make his or her way up it to her. Maybe she wouldn't die after all.

There was one small problem. Emma imagined that she would have to end up going down said ladder to get out and as much as she wanted out, she wasn't very fond of heights. She generally avoided going up normal ladders as a rule and this one seemed significantly taller than what she was used to. It felt like an eternity before the firefighter reached her window.

"Help me! she called. Logically, Emma knew that panicking wasn't going to help, but she couldn't help it. "Please help me!" She watched as she first saw the helmet under her window as the firefighter reached up. He, it was a he, had a clear shield over his face and behind it Emma could see a pair of blue eyes. And holy crap, he was handsome. It was a completely ridiculous thing to think, but she'd thought it anyway. "Please help me," she pleaded.

"It's going to be alright," the fireman said. He spoke with an accent - English, maybe?

"Please don't let me die," she begged. Emma was generally not the type of person who ever begged anyone for anything, but apparently being trapped in an apartment fire brought it out of her. She didn't care. She wanted out and she wanted out now.

"I'm not going to let you die, I assure you. You're going to be okay. What's your name, lass?" He asked.

"E-Emma," she managed, struggling to stay somewhat calm.

"Emma, my name is Killian and I'm going to get you out, alright? But first, I need to know a couple of things. Are you injured?" He asked.

"N-no," she answered.

"Good. Is there anyone else in the apartment with you?"

"No, it's just me," she told him.

"Okay, good. Now here's what I need you to do. You're going to put one leg out of the window, alright?" he instructed.

"O-okay." Emma gulped as she very carefully got one leg up and over, pulling herself up onto the windowsill.

"There you go. You're doing great," he said, encouragingly. "Now, you're going to hold onto the windowsill and swing your other leg out of the window and onto the ladder. You're going to end up on the rung right above the one I'm standing on, see, " he explained. Emma peered out to see which rung he was standing on.

That was a mistake. That was a very big mistake. It seemed as if the ground was a thousand feet away.

"I can't do this! I hate ladders, I hate heights. I can't do this!" So much for staying calm. Emma was quite certain she had never been so afraid in her entire life. "I'm going to die. Holy crap, I can't do this!"

"Hey, hey, look at me," he ordered, though not unkindly. "Not at the ground. Look at me." She did. "You will not die. You can do this, Emma. I promise you, you can do this. You're not the first person I've helped down a ladder and you won't be the last."

"But what if I fall?" She asked, sounding teary now.

"You won't fall," he said, firmly. "We're going to go down the ladder together. You'll hold onto the rungs while I hold onto the rails."

"But if my foot slips..."

"If your foot slips, I'll catch you. I am not in the habit of letting people plummet to their deaths and I certainly don't intend to start tonight. You have my word," he said. "All you need to do is trust me. Can you do that?"

"Y-yes," she decided.

"That's a good lass. You're going to be just fine," Killian assured her. Emma took a deep breath and very slowly got her other leg out of the window, her foot finding the rung just above his. "See? Getting on the ladder is the worst part." Emma wasn't so sure she agreed, but he continued before she could voice a protest. "And you've done it. Now I've got you good and caged in and I promise that I am not going to let you fall. I've got you, Emma. We're going to move together, on my command, alright?"

"Al-alright," she said. Holy crap, she was scared. But having his arms on either side of her made her feel better.

"Step down with your right foot," he instructed. "Just like that. Now the left. Good." And so they proceeded down the ladder, taking it slowly. For a minute it seemed like Emma really was going to be okay.

Then it happened. Her foot slipped and she started to slide. "Killian!" She cried out his name, which proved to be completely unnecessary. He'd leaned into her before she'd reached the last syllable of his name. He pressed his chest against her back, effectively pinning her between his body and the ladder. Emma felt like her heart was going to beat its way right out of her chest, it was pounding so fast.

"I've got you," he said, calmly. "You're not going anywhere, Emma. I've got you. Put your foot back on the rung." She did, hating the way she was trembling. "It's alright, love. You're alright. Take a deep breath." Emma did, comforted by his presence against her back.

"Don't let me fall," she pleaded.

"I'm not going to let you fall, Emma," he promised. "Trust me. Are you ready to start moving again?"

"Y-yes."

"Good. You're a tough lass. Now, step down with your right foot." Emma followed his instructions and they headed further down the ladder. "Almost there, love. Just a few more steps." And then finally, words that were like music to Emma's ears, "One more step, Emma."

Emma had never been happier to be on solid ground in her life. She looked back up at the ladder they just came down and the realization of how far they'd had to come had her trembling again. Her legs felt like they were made out of jello.

"It's alright, now," he said, gently turning her around to face him. "You did it, lass. I told you that I would get you down."

"Th-thank you," she whispered. "N-now what happens?"

"Now we're going to let the paramedics look you over since you've inhaled some smoke," he answered. "Here." Killian guided her to one of the waiting ambulances. "You're safe now, Emma."

"Thank you," she said again. "Killian?"

"That's me," he smiled at her and Emma could've sworn that her heart almost stopped. "And you are very welcome."

* * *

"Are you sure, you feel okay?" Emma sighed. It was a couple of days after the fire and she'd been staying with her best friends, Mary Margaret and David Nolan. She'd had to spend a night in the hospital for observation and Emma couldn't help but feel like Mary Margaret would give her nurses a run for their money.

"I'm okay," Emma told her for what felt like the hundredth time. "They wouldn't have released me otherwise."

"They wouldn't have admitted you in the first place if you were fine," Mary Margaret argued.

"That was for observation," Emma pointed out. "I'm fine." She made a face. "Other than the whole being homeless thing. And the whole losing all of my possessions right before Christmas thing."

"Oh Emma," Mary Margaret frowned, wrapping her arms around her friend. "I'm so sorry."

"It wasn't your fault," Emma said, but didn't refrain from hugging her back.

"I'm still sorry," Mary Margaret said.

"We both are," David spoke up.

"Thanks guys," Emma said, gratefully. "Thanks for letting me stay with you while I look for a new place to stay."

"You can stay here for as long as you need to," Mary Margaret told her.

"I just can't believe I lost everything," Emma sighed. Her apartment building was still mostly intact, but would need to be torn down. The damage from the fire had been too great. They weren't letting anyone inside. Emma didn't know if any of her things had survived the fire, but if anything did, she was going to lose them anyway.

"You can always get more things," David said. "We're just happy that you're okay."

"That's right," Mary Margaret nodded. "You'll get back on your feet, I'm sure of it. The important thing is that you're safe. That's what really matters, even though I know it doesn't feel like it."

"No, I know," Emma agreed. "I thought I was going to die," she admitted. "If it hadn't been for Killian..."

"Killian?" David asked.

"The fireman who rescued me," Emma supplied. "I totally panicked, but he got me out. And hey, at least now I can say I got rescued by a hot fireman."

"You thought he was hot?" Mary Margaret asked. "How hot?"

"Mary Margaret, I'm sitting right here," David protested, good-naturedly.

"Go make Emma some tea, if it bothers you," Mary Margaret said, waving her hand in dismissal. "How hot was he?"

"He was hot," Emma shrugged. "He had a sexy accent."

"Ooh, so he was good looking with an accent. Did you see a ring?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I can still hear you!" David called from the kitchen.

"I'm not asking for me!" Mary Margaret shot back before turning her attention back to Emma. "So did you?"

"Mary Margaret, he wearing his fireman uniform at the time," Emma said, rolling her eyes. "He was wearing gloves."

"Hmm."

Emma could practically see the wheels turning in her friend's head. Mary Margaret was constantly trying to find a nice man for Emma and was clearly wondering if Killian might be the one. Emma knew how Mary Margaret's brain worked.

"He's probably married," Emma said, quickly. "Or seeing someone."

"Maybe," Mary Margaret shrugged. "Or he could be single and looking for a girlfriend."

"He could also be a total player who dates women and throws them out like yesterday's garbage," Emma shot back.

"Or he could be a total sweetheart who treats women with respect and kindess," Mary Margaret continued.

"He could be one of those guys who swear that they'll never get married. Who'll stay a bachelor forever," Emma said.

"Or he could be the love of your life," Mary Margaret countered. "And you'll have a wonderful story to tell your grandkids someday. About the time that Grandpa rescued Grandma from a burning building and they fell in love."

"I seriously doubt that," Emma laughed.

"You know what?" Mary Margaret asked, unperturbed. "I think we should make him some cookies."

"What? You want to make him cookies?" Emma asked, baffled now.

"I want us to make him cookies," Mary Margaret nodded, excited. "We need to find out if he's single," she added.

"And if he's not?" Emma inquired.

"Emma, he saved your life," Mary Margaret said. "Single or not, I say he deserves some cookies as a thank you. We need to support our firefighters." She had a point. "And besides, it's almost Christmas."

* * *

"I don't know what's worse," Emma said, as Mary Margaret parked by the fire station the next afternoon. "The fact that you actually talked me into bringing him cookies or the fact that you decided to tag along."

"You seriously didn't think I was going to let you come alone, did you?" Mary Margaret asked, gleefully. "I want to see the hot fireman."

"This is ridiculous," Emma muttered as they headed into the fire station. "He's probably not even here."

"Can I help you ladies?" They looked up at the bearded man who had spoken.

"I certainly hope so," Mary Margaret said. "We were looking for a fireman by the name of Killian. Is he here?"

"Uh, yeah," the man said. "Hey Jones! You've got some visitors." Emma looked in the direction that the bearded man had yelled, finding Killian sitting at a table in what looked like an eating area. She watched his eyebrows lift in surprise before he got up to walk over to them.

"Oh my," Mary Margaret breathed. "That's Killian?"

"That's Killian," Emma confirmed, her eyes wide. He looked even better without a helmet on, she decided. Much better.

"Oh my," Mary Margaret repeated. "Oh, I do hope he's single."

"Mary Margaret!" Emma hissed.

"Emma, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Killian asked. "And who's this?" he added, smiling politely at Mary Margaret.

"I'm Mary Margaret Nolan," Mary Margaret said, grinning at him like a lunatic. "And you're the man who saved my friend's life."

"All in a day's work, really," Killian said. Emma was charmed to see the tips of his ears had turned pink at Mary Margaret's words.

"Nonsense," Mary Margaret chided. "You guys don't get enough credit."

"We, um, we made you cookies," Emma said, offering him the tin that held them. "You know, to say thank you."

"Oh," Killian said, seeming taken aback. "How incredibly thoughtful of you. Thank you."

"No, thank you," Emma said, sincerely. She handed him the tin, ignoring the faint jolt of electricity she felt as his fingers brushed against hers.

"Yes, thank you," Mary Margaret echoed. "Your, uh, your wife must be very proud to be married to such a hero." Emma gaped at her in disbelief.

"I don't have a wife," Killian said, seeming somewhat baffled.

"Your girlfriend, then," Mary Margaret pressed, to Emma's horror.

"Mary Margaret," Emma warned.

"I'm not seeing anyone, actually," Killian said, looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Oh, did you hear that, Emma? He's not seeing anyone," Mary Margaret said, sounding completely delighted by this revelation.

"Yes, I heard," Emma said, wishing she had a hole to crawl into.

"Such a shame, too," Mary Margaret declared.

"Mary Margaret," Emma said. "I think we've taken up enough of Killian's time. We should probably go."

"But Emma," Mary Margaret said. "We were just getting acquainted."

"We have to meet David, remember? That's her husband," Emma said, to Killian who looked quite amused by this point.

"Yes, I'm married," Mary Margaret said. "Emma, on the other hand, is not."

"Mary Margaret!" Emma said, mortified.

"You're not!" Mary Margaret exclaimed. "She isn't." This was said for Killian's benefit.

"I find that rather hard to believe," Killian said, kindly.

"I know, right?" Mary Margaret asked. "It's such a shame. She's such a great girl. She'd be a great girlfriend."

"Mary Margaret!" Emma had always thought of Mary Margaret as a sister, but now she found herself debating whether she should strangle her or not. "We really do need to go. David's waiting." She turned to Killian, who looked as though he was trying not to laugh. "It was nice to see you again. And thank you. Again."

"You're welcome again," he said. "And thank you for these," he added, lifting up the tin. Emma began practically dragging Mary Margaret out of the station. "Emma?"

"Yes?" Emma glanced back at Killian.

"Would you like to go out some time?" He asked.

"Yes!" It was Mary Margaret who answered. "She would love to go with you. How's Friday night sound to you?"

Yup. Emma was definitely going to strangle Mary Margaret later. "Why, Friday night sounds good to me, but perhaps we should see what Emma thinks." Oh yes, Killian was absolutely amused.

"And what does Emma think?" Mary Margaret asked, beaming at her friend.

"Friday night sounds good," Emma agreed, giving Killian a sheepish smile.

"Excellent." Mary Margaret clapped her hands as if sealing the deal. "It's a date."

* * *

"Oh Emma, you look beautiful," Mary Margaret breathed as Emma came down the stairs of the Nolan house that Friday night. She smacked David on the arm. "Doesn't she look beautiful?"

"Okay, it's bad enough that you basically railroaded Killian into going on a date with me," Emma began. "But you don't have to-" She stopped as she was temporarily blinded by a flash of light. "The hell?!"

"I had to take a picture," Mary Margaret said.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were my mother in another life," Emma sighed.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I know I've been ridiculous, but I just want you to be happy," Mary Margaret said. At this, Emma softened.

"I know," she assured her. "And I love you for that." Emma glanced over at the knock on the door. "But if you take a picture of me and Killian, I will not be responsible for my actions." She headed towards the door, but stopped and looking back at her friends. "I really look okay?" Emma had chosen a simple red sheath dress with minimal jewelry. She'd wanted to look nice, but not like she was trying too hard. Of course, she'd had to go shopping to get them since she'd lost what she had. Mary Margaret had naturally come along and had made her try on what had seemed like a million dresses before she'd decided on this one.

"Mary Margaret's right. You look beautiful, Emma," David said. Emma gave him a grateful smile and headed to answer the door. Killian stood on the other side and she was surprised to see him holding a small bouquet of white carnations.

"Hi Killian," she said, surprised that she was able to get the words out. It had been a long time since anyone had brought her flowers.

"Emma...you look lovely tonight," Killian said. He lifted the flowers in offering. "I know it's a bit old-fashioned but I was at the supermarket and I thought you might like them?"

Bless him, he looked so nervous all of a sudden. "You brought me flowers," Emma whispered. "That's so sweet of you, Killian. Thank you." She watched as the tips of his ears went pink as she accepted the flowers.

"Oh, did you hear that, David? He brought her flowers!" Mary Margaret sighed from the other room.

"For crying out loud," Emma muttered.

"Was that Mary Margaret?" Killian asked, smiling now as he helped Emma into her coat.

"It was." Emma closed her eyes as Mary Margaret appeared, David in tow. "It's so wonderful to see you again, Killian. And you look so handsome. Doesn't he look handsome, Emma?"

"Uh, yeah. He does," Emma answered, positive that she was blushing now. "Very."

"You ladies are too kind," Killian said humbly, bowing his head towards Mary Margaret. "It's nice to see you again, as well."

"Oh, and this is my husband, David," Mary Margaret said. "David, this is Killian. Emma's handsome fireman."

Emma was absolutely going to be strangling Mary Margaret later, Emma thought as she watched the two men shake hands. And then because her friends could not stop humiliating her, David joked about Killian getting Emma home at a reasonable hour or else. Except it was clear to Emma that he was only half-joking and she hadn't been able to get Killian out the door fast enough.

"Sorry about them," Emma said, embarrassed as Killian walked her to his car and opened her door for her. "They're a little, um, protective."

"Your friends care about you," Killian said. "It's sweet."

"Sometimes it's like they're trying to be my parents," Emma said, laughing a little.

* * *

Emma couldn't remember the last time she'd enjoyed a date so much. First dates could be so horrible and Emma had certainly been on some real doozies in her time. But she seemed to click with Killian right away. They'd gone out to a nice dinner. Nice enough to show Emma that he'd put some thought in their date, but not fancy enough to make her uncomfortable. It was the perfect choice.

Afterwards, Killian had suggested that they drive around looking at Christmas lights and Emma had agreed. As he was pulling back up to the Nolan house, Emma couldn't help but think that this had been the best first date that she had ever been on.

While he was walking her up to the front door, Emma slipped on some ice and would have fallen had he not caught her. "Don't worry, love," he said, smiling at her. "I've got you."

"You're good at that," she said. "Catching me, I mean."

"Well, I'm not in the habit of letting beautiful women fall on my watch," he said, making her blush.

"I thought you weren't in the habit of letting people fall to their deaths," she said, grinning at him.

"Not letting people plummet to their deaths is a part of my job description," Killian said. "Me not letting you fall on some ice is part of being a gentleman. And I always try to be a gentleman."

"Too bad there's not more men like you," Emma said, holding onto his offered arm while they continued up the walkway to the front door.

"Yes, well my grandmother would have my hide, as they say, if I didn't treat women with respect," Killian told her.

"Are you close to your grandmother, then?" Emma asked.

"I am, yes," Killian nodded. "She was the one who raised my brother and I after we lost our parents. I would do anything for that woman."

"That's nice," Emma said, quietly. "She must be very proud of her grandson."

"I certainly hope so," he responded, waiting while Emma used her spare key to unlock the door.

"Thank you for tonight," she said, turning back to him. "I had a great time."

"Ah, so then might I hope that you would go out with me again?" He asked.

"I would love to go out with you again," Emma replied.

"Good, because after tonight I've come to the conclusion that one date with you just isn't enough," he said. Now it was Emma's turn to duck her head. Oh, she liked this man. She looked up at him, her heart pounding and her eyes closing as he leaned in towards her.

And softly kissed her cheek.

Damn.

Emma tried not to let her disappointment show as she opened her eyes. That was not the kind of kiss she'd been hoping for, but she supposed it was something. And he wanted to see her again, so he was obviously interested. But still.

"Goodnight Emma," he said, his voice as gentle as a caress.

"Goodnight Killian," she said, smiling at him before going inside. Where she immediately leaned back against the closed door. It was ridiculous to be so disappointed, she knew that. They'd only been on one date so far. Surely there would be another opportunity for a proper goodnight kiss. Emma hoped so, anyway.

* * *

Emma sighed as she peeled off her coat and hung it up in the Nolans coat closet. She'd just slipped her shoes off and was about to pick them up and head upstairs where there was a knock at the door. Her heart lifted and she turned to open it.

"Killian," she breathed. "Did you forget something?"

"Aye," he said, looking determined now. "This." Killian put one hand on her waist and the other on her cheek and then his lips were on hers. Now this is what she was talking about, Emma thought. She hung onto him, worried that she might melt into a puddle at his feet what with the way he was kissing her otherwise. "Merry Christmas, love."

"Merry Christmas," she whispered back, her head spinning. She'd felt that kiss all the way down to her toes. Killian eased back, sliding the one hand he'd had on her cheek down her arm before lifting her hand and bringing it to his lips.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised.

"You better," she murmured, making him grin. When Emma finally did go upstairs to the Nolans guest bedroom, she felt like she was floating.

She'd lost her home and her belongings in that fire, but she would be okay. She had her friends who she knew she could lean on to help her get through this. Now she'd gotten herself a handsome fireman for Christmas.

And who knew? Maybe Mary Margaret was right and Emma and Killian would go on to tell their grandchildren all about the time that Grandpa saved Grandma from an apartment fire and then they fell in love.

Someday.


	10. Ten Christmases

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Christmas throughout the years (any time period)
> 
> This one starts off on Emma and Killian's first Christmas as a married couple and includes scenes from the following nine Christmases. So ten total.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this one, I decided that I wanted to use the daughters I gave them in my All We Ever Wanted one shot series again. You don't need to read that to read this.
> 
> Ten Christmases also comes with two warnings:  
> 1) It's another long one for me, over 9,000 words.  
> 2) There's some sexual content in the beginning. This is why I gave the story its rating. I would not consider it explicit, but it's enough that I felt I needed a warning. Mild language as well. But really only for the Newlyweds scene. After that, it's pretty much pure fluff. Some fun. Some emotion. I tried to include different kinds of scenes.

**1st Christmas.** **  
** **Newlyweds.**

Emma shoved Killian against their front door after waiting impatiently for him to open it to let them inside. He'd let her go in first, only to have her grab him by the lapels of his coat and yank him in after her. He'd had just enough time to close the door with his foot before being getting pushed back up against it. Emma then proceeded to kiss the holy hell out of him.

They'd just enjoyed a wonderful Christmas party and Emma had had the time of her life. She had a nice buzz going from the alcohol and, with Henry staying over at Regina's, had felt the need to drag her husband home and take advantage of him.

It was officially Christmas Eve; their first as a married couple. And Emma intended to make the best of it. She'd thrown herself into getting ready for Christmas. This naturally included educating Killian about the holiday as they didn't have Christmas in the Enchanted Forest. He found the whole thing fascinating, though nothing piqued his interest more than mistletoe.

Emma had been amused to wake up to find a sprig of mistletoe over the doorway to their bedroom one morning. And their bathroom. And their closet. And stuck to the roof of her Bug. She'd laughingly informed him that people generally didn't put mistletoe in their cars and he'd argued that more people should. After the kiss he'd promptly given her in said car to prove his point, she hadn't been able to disagree.

Suffice it to say, Emma and Killian had been happily putting the mistletoe to good use. Especially once Killian had insisted that the newlywed phase should last for the entirety of the first year of marriage and Emma was completely on board with that idea. Much to Henry's chagrin and general disgust. Well, poor Henry would just have to deal with it.

Besides, Henry wasn't home at the moment. As much as she loved her son, Emma couldn't help being thrilled about that as she continued to kiss Killian senseless under the mistletoe that hung over their front door. She shoved his coat off his shoulders before sliding her hands down to unfasten his belt.

"Emma." Her name came out on a partial whimper as she practically slithered her way down his body. "Love, you don't have to..."

"Ssh," she ordered, shooting him a wicked smile while she freed him from his jeans. "Consider this an early Christmas present."

"Emma...fuck." Killian's eyes closed and his head fell back against the door while she proceeded to thoroughly and enthusiastically pleasure him with her mouth. She'd had him reduced to unintelligible grunts and groans in no time, his hand sliding into her hair at one point. Not to try to control or force her movements, but because he simply needed to touch her.

His thoughts generally consisted of a string of curses mixed in with her name while she drove him to the point of pure madness. If he hadn't already been married to her, he would've wanted to marry her on the spot on the merit of what she was now doing to him alone. Bloody hell. Emma had learned how to wreck him in the best possible ways. And she enjoyed doing it. May the gods help him, getting him off turned her on.

By the time she was done, Killian was pretty certain that she could ask him to do absolutely anything for her and he'd do it. If she'd asked for the moon, he would've found a way to bring her the bloody moon. Which, if he was being honest, had been the case ever since he'd fallen for her. He would do anything for this amazing woman. This just intensified that desire.

He was still trying to figure out how to come back to earth when she slithered her way back up his body. "You're welcome, baby," she murmured against his lips.

The response he gave to this was something along the lines of "mmmfngph". It was a sound that he was quite certain he'd never made before, ever, but that was what she'd reduced him too. Nonsensical mumbles. The bloody minx that was his wife merely giggled in response to this.

A goofy smile spread across Killian's face as his eyes closed once again. He didn't think he could ever tire of hearing his wife giggle. It was quite possibly the most adorable sound he'd ever heard. And heaven knew that she hadn't done nearly enough of that in her life. He made an effort to make her giggle as much as possible.

He opened his eyes, expecting to find her still standing in front of them, but she wasn't. A quick glance around and he found her in the kitchen, reaching up to pull down a glass from a cabinet. He peeled himself away from their front down and made his way to her.

Emma had gone to get herself a glass of water and was just about to ask if he wanted one too when he came up behind her. Sliding his arms around her, he tugged her to him. "Hey," she said in greeting.

"Hey," he replied. "I think we need to have a talk."

"About what?" she asked.

"About what you just did to me," he answered, bringing his lips right to her ear. "I'm afraid that you may have just landed yourself on the naughty list, my love."

"Oh, what Santa doesn't know won't hurt him," Emma answered, a smile tugging on her lips.

"But you forget. Santa sees everything," Killian reminded her. "What's that line from the song? About him knowing if you've been bad or good?" Killian's Christmas education had naturally included listening to Christmas music. "And you, my dear, have been very bad." His lips brushed against the sensitive spot just underneath her ear, making her shiver.

"Yeah?" Her voice was husky as she continued. "And what are you going to do about it?"

"Isn't it obvious, Swan?" Emma's eyes fluttered closed as he kissed her neck, his lips soft against her skin. The stubble on his face always providing such a nice contrast in sensations. "I'm going to have to punish you. The kind of behavior you just displayed, well. You simply cannot do something like that and not expect...consequences."

"You don't scare me." The breathiness in her voice belied her words, but she found it hard to care.

"You are a brave lass," he purred. "But that's not going to save you." Emma gasped as he suddenly spun her around to face him. "I've got you in my clutches now."

"Do your worst," she challenged. "I dare you."

"Don't worry, love," he assured her. "I will." With that, he crushed his lips against hers. Emma soon found herself being lifted onto their kitchen table.

It really was a good thing that Henry wasn't home.

It was some time later, after Killian had proceeded to thoroughly ravage his wife and while she was still trying to catch her breath. "Merry Christmas Eve, love," he murmured against her lips.

"Merry Christmas Eve," she managed.

* * *

 **2nd Christmas.** **  
** **Playtime.**

It was Christmas and Emma was feeling especially playful as she lured Killian outside. She'd woken up before him for a change and the two of them had enjoyed a nice breakfast as they exchanged gifts, just the two of them. Henry had spent the morning at Regina's and would be coming over to their house so the three of them could head out to Snow and Charming's house together.

And now she had the overwhelming urge to do something fun. "A snowball fight?" he asked, skeptically. Christmas had evidently turned his wife into a five-year-old with the body of an adult.

"Oh come on!" she insisted. "It'll be fun."

"Henry is due to arrive at any moment," Killian reminded her. "And then we're going to have to go."

"You know what I think?" she asked and he detected a note of challenge in her voice.

"What's that?"

"I think you're too chicken to fight me," she informed him, earning herself one of his classic eyebrow raises.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said that I think that you, sir, are a chicken," she repeated.

"Oh, I see what you're doing here," he nodded. "You're trying to goad me into a fight. Well, I hate to break it to you, love, but it's not going to work."

"We'll see about that," she muttered.

"I'm going to start loading the car, alright?" He asked, turning to go back inside. "Maybe we can have a fight la-" He stopped when he felt a snowball hit him in the back. "Hitting a man when his back is turned? Bad form, love."

"So, why don't you do something about it?" Emma asked, defiantly. "Oh that's right, I remember. You're a chicken, that's why."

"Swan..." he said, slowly turning around to face her.

"Yes, chicken?" she answered, innocently.

"This will not work," Killian said, calmly. "Now come on, we'll have a nice snowball fight later on with the rest of our fa-" This time it wasn't a snowball that cut him off. No. It was the sound of Emma clucking. "Oh, now that's real mature, Swan," he shook his head at her, even as his lips quivered. "I'll give you points for effort. But calling me a chicken and making chicken noises is not going to get you want you want."

"You know what?" she asked, an impish smile appearing on her face.

"What?" he asked, warily.

"I was wrong," she said, surprising him. "You're not a chicken." She waited a beat. "You're a codfish."

There was a long pause.

"What did you just call me?" he asked, slowly.

"You heard me." Emma began sauntering over to him. "I called you a codfish." She watched a muscle in his jaw twitch. "You know what's interesting? You always go on and on about how horribly inaccurate the  _Peter Pan_  movie is. 'That's not how it bloody happened, Swan,'" she said, in a terrible imitation of his accent. "They got a couple of things right though, didn't they?"

"Swan..." This time there was a hint of warning in his voice.

"You really don't like being called a codfish, do you?" She sounded positively gleeful. "Then I bet you'll really hate this." She took a step closer. "Captain Hook is a codfish," she taunted in a singsong voice.

"Swan?"

"Codfish?" She had the audacity to flutter her eyelashes at him when she said this and he couldn't help being completely charmed. He struggled to keep it from showing, however.

"I'm going to let you in on a little secret," he said, moving closer to her. "Me trying to avoid a snowball fight was actually just me being a gentleman."

"Nah, that's not it," she argued, waving her hand in dismissal. "You just know that you're going to lose. Because you're a codfish." She watched him work his jaw for a moment.

"Swan?"

"What?"

"Run," he advised, a dangerous glint in his eyes. Emma let out a shriek as he charged. It was on. All out war as they began pelting each other with snowballs. The battle went on for quite some time until she managed to hit him right in the face with a snowball.

"Ha!" Emma whooped. "You  _are_  a codfish." She cupped her hands around her mouth. "Captain Hook is a bloody codfish!" she crowed, yelping a second later when he caught her around the waist.

"Take that back," he growled. Or rather, he attempted to growl. It was hard to sound threatening while he was laughing.

"Never!" she cried.

"Take it back." Now she squirmed as he held her against him with his left arm and began tickling her. Emma made a wild twist in an effort to escape, managing to throw them completely off balance. They fell to the snow covered ground in a tangled heap of limbs, laughing. After a brief wrestling match, Emma emerged victorious as she straddled him, pinning his arms above his head.

"I win," she declared, her eyes twinkling. "Admit it."

"Alright, fine. You win," he acknowledged, trying to regain his breath. "This round. This isn't over, Swan."

"Oh, I know," she assured him. "I can't wait until I can beat you again."

"Please, you got lucky this time," he teased.

"Keep believing that, buddy," she countered. She watched him for a few moments, smirking. "You know, I'm enjoying this. Having you at my mercy."

"At your mercy, am I?" he asked, his eyebrow lifting again. "Tell me, love, what exactly do you plan on doing with me, then?"

"Well, for starters..." Her gaze lowered to his lips. "How about this?" She leaned in to kiss him. "Yeah, I think I like this," she murmured, kissing him again. The kiss slowly grew more heated as she released his arms to touch his face. She let out a muffled squeal against his lips as he suddenly rolled them over. Emma had never made out in the snow before, but it made for an interesting contrast. The cold of the air and the snow against her back versus the heat from his body. From his lips.

Emma let him think that he'd taken control for a few moments before flipping them over again. She rolled her hips against his, making him growl into her mouth.

Unfortunately for everyone involved, neither of them heard Henry approach. "Guys? Are you ba-...oh gross!" Henry exclaimed. Emma instantly wrenched her lips away from Killian's.

"Henry!" Her voice seemed abnormally high as she quickly sat up and back on her heels. "Um, Merry Christmas!" She smiled at her son, who looked absolutely horrified. Not to mention completely grossed out.

"You...I...what the hell?!" Henry sputtered, as Killian sat up.

"We were just playing," Emma offered weakly, swatting Killian's shoulder when he let out a snort of amusement in response.

Before immediately throwing her under the bus.

"Your mother started it," Killian said quickly.

"Seriously?!" Emma asked, gaping at him. "You're just going to rat me out like that?

"You did!" Killian answered, shooting her a look before looking at Henry. "She did!" At Henry's incredulous look, Killian went on to add, "She called me a bloody codfish! Was I just supposed to let that go? I think not!"

Henry merely made a strangled kind of noise as his eyes darted wildly between his mom and stepdad.

Now as Emma looked back and forth between her husband and her son, the entire situation suddenly struck her as incredibly funny. There she was, straddling Killian's legs in the snow. Her husband's hair was full of snow and sticking out in every direction, making him look completely ridiculous. Emma imagined that she must look equally ridiculous. That, combined with the way they'd been making out in the snow like a pair of hormonal teenagers.

And poor Henry's mouth just kept opening and closing as if he couldn't find the proper words to express his horror at witnessing this. He reminded her of a fish. A codfish, perhaps.

The giggle escaped before Emma could stop it.

"Mom!" Henry sounded absolutely mortified now that he'd gotten a word out.

"I'm sorry," Emma managed, before making the mistake of looking at Killian. Who by this time had schooled his face into an expression of total innocence. Save for the way his eyes were sparkling. The giggles came in full force then and she buried her face against Killian's shoulder in an effort to muffle them.

"Was there something you needed, lad?" Killian asked, formally. That only served to make Emma laugh even harder.

"We...we should...should probably get ready to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house," Henry managed after a moment. "If you two think you can control yourselves!" It was Emma's turn to snort as a fresh wave of giggles overtook her.

"An excellent suggestion, my boy," Killian nodded, his own lips quivering in response to his wife's merriment. "How about you start loading up the car and we'll join you shortly, aye?"

Now Henry nodded, instantly turning on his heel to leave. He glanced back, shaking his head at them in disgust and then went into the house without further comment. Emma, meanwhile, was desperately trying to get a hold of herself. There were tears in her eyes as she pulled back.

"Alright there, Swan?" Killian asked, grinning at her.

* * *

 **3rd Christmas.** **  
** **Baby on the way.**

Killian rolled over, intending to snuggle up against Emma. Only to find her side of the bed empty. He frowned as he proceeded to sit up and scrubbed his hand over his face before glancing at the clock on his bedside table. It was just after midnight, which meant that it was now officially Christmas.

He got out of bed and padded out of their bedroom to go looking for her and found her curled up on their living room couch, looking peaceful as she admired their tree. She'd turned the tree lights back on when she'd come downstairs. Her hands rested against her still flat abdomen. He'd just opened his mouth to say something to her, closing it when she began to speak. But not to him.

"Merry Christmas, little one." Emma's voice was soft as she smiled down at her stomach. "You know, me and Daddy only found out about you a couple of weeks ago, but we already love you." She laughed a little. "I know I've told you that before, but you're just going to have to get used to hearing it. Mommy and Daddy love you so much and we're probably going to be saying it to you all the time. Yes, we will. Because we do and I know that I never want you to think otherwise. Daddy won't want that either."

"No, we want you to know that you're loved. That you're the product of true love. And you know what else? We've been waiting for you for a long time. Knowing that you're here now is the best Christmas present I could ever have. Yeah. I can't wait until we get to meet you! Until I get to hold you." A pause. "What? Oh I know I've told you that before. Get used to hearing that, kid."

Another pause. "Can I tell you a secret? As much as I want to meet you, I'm a little nervous too. I just want to be the best Mommy I can be for you. But I'll make mistakes. I'm not perfect. But I can promise you that I will always do my very best. That I will love you and protect you and do whatever I can to make you happy." Emma gently rubbed her stomach. "We'll figure it out together, okay? And we're both really lucky, do you know why?"

"We're lucky because we have your Daddy and he is going to be an amazing father. What's that?" Another paused. "Yes, I know I've told you that before too. We're going to talk about Daddy a lot. I don't want you to ever forget how lucky we are. And you wanna hear something really silly? Daddy's worried that he won't be an amazing which is silly because I know that he will. Your Daddy is amazing," Emma breathed. "He's such a good man with such a good heart and he'll make you feel like the most important person in the whole world. He'll love you, no matter what. And he'll stay by your side. He will always, always be there when you need him."

"And he will always come up with new ways to make you laugh. And he'll teach you about life and how to stay strong when things are difficult. Your Daddy's been through a lot and he always bounces back. He'll teach you how to do the same." Emma's eyes lit up as she thought of something else. "And you know what else? Daddy gives the best hugs. You're going to feel so safe in his arms, yes you will. Safe and treasured. And that's exactly what you will be in your daddy's arms. And mine. Oh, I can't wait to meet you, little one." Emma looked up when she detected movement, a smile appearing on her face when she spotted Killian. She glanced back down at her stomach. "And guess who's here, baby? Daddy!" Looking back at Killian she asked, "How long have you been there?"

"A little while," he said, his voice thick. "That was..." He shook his head. "You humble me, Swan."

"I'm just telling our baby the truth," she said, lovingly. She patted the spot next to her on the couch. "Come join us."

"I think you give me far too much credit," he said, still fighting to speak over the lump in his throat created from her sweet praise as he sat beside her. "And yourself far too little. You're going to be an amazing mother." He brought his hand to her stomach. "You have an amazing mother, little one," he said to it.

"Oh Killian," Emma said, letting out a sigh of contentment. "Can you believe that we'll have our baby to hold next Christmas?"

"I can't wait," he said, smiling at her. "Just knowing that our little one is growing inside you right now is more than I ever thought I could have. I love you so much, Swan."

"I love you more," she said. "Merry Christmas, Captain."

"Merry Christmas, my love," he said, gently brushing his lips against hers. "And Merry Christmas to you as well, our little one."

* * *

 **4th Christmas.** **  
** **Catalina's first Christmas.**

Emma didn't think she had ever been more excited for a Christmas than she was this year. Because this year, she got to share it with her precious baby girl. Catalina had been born in August and so this was her first Christmas.

A bright smile was on Emma's face as she went into her daughter's nursery and set about getting her ready for the day. A fresh diaper was the first order of business. The next step was dressing her in a Christmas onesie with the words  _My First Christmas_  in script on it with an adorable cartoon of a snowman beside it. Emma hummed "Santa Baby" the entire time she was getting Catalina ready in what would likely be her first outfit of the day.

"There you go, my special little Christmas miss," Emma grinned at her baby who smiled back. "Why don't we go wake up Daddy. What do you think? Do you wanna wake up Daddy? Let's go."

Emma headed back to her and Killian's bedroom, finding him still sleeping in their bed. Unperturbed, Emma carried Catalina over to the bed and sat down. "Say wake up, Daddy!" Emma prodded Killian's leg with her foot, grinning when Catalina started babbling along with her. "You tell him. Say wake up Daddy, you're missing my first Christmas!"

"Daddy's up," Killian mumbled after another moment. A sleepy smile was on his face when he opened his eyes. "Good morning, girls." He yawned, moving into a sitting position before reaching for Catalina. "A very Merry first Christmas to you, my little love," he cooed to his daughter, cuddling her close and kissing the top of her head. "And a very Merry Christmas to you, as well, my wife."

"Say Merry Christmas, Daddy," Emma said. "Merry Christmas!"

Catalina responded with another round of babbles.

"Close enough," Emma laughed.

* * *

Emma's cheeks hurt from smiling. Both her house and her heart were full. Her parents had showed up later that morning with a very excited Neal. Her little brother was three years old and seemed to enjoy trying to make his little niece laugh. Something that all everyone in the family enjoyed doing ever since she'd first laughed earlier that month.

A competition of sorts had broken out, initially between Neal and Henry. They had taken turns making funny faces at Catalina, trying to see who could make her laugh the most. Henry had made a solid effort, but Neal had ultimately won that round. Then there'd been a recess when Catalina had started crying. That was when Emma had been forced to intervene. Her baby girl had been hungry and in need of a nap, so it'd been Mommy to the rescue.

After a while, Snow had gone up to get her and bring her back downstairs. Catalina's good spirits had returned now that she'd been fed and had a nap and so the next round of competition began. This one between Killian and David. At the moment, David was holding her. Emma couldn't help snickering as David's most recent funny face went over like a lead balloon. Catalina was completely unimpressed with it.

"Ha!" Killian laughed. "Sorry mate, but I have the home advantage with this one. Behold." With that, he broke out his secret weapon: the eyebrow wiggle. It was a pretty consistent giggle maker, proven by the way Catalina started laughing. The eyebrow wiggle got the big laughs. Unfortunately for the rest of the family, no one else could move their eyebrows the way Killian could.

Come to find out, whereas Catalina was amused by Killian's eyebrows? Neal found them absolutely mesmerizing. "How do you  _do_  that?" Neal asked, his voice full of awe.

Now the entertainment shifted from the men trying to make Catalina laugh to Neal trying to imitate Killian's eyebrow movements with absolutely no success whatsoever. Emma couldn't help giggling as David walked over to her, with Catalina still in his arms. "I can't believe it," he said. "Outdone by a pair of eyebrows."

"Aw, you still make me laugh, Dad," Emma assured him.

"Well, thank you," David grinned at her.

"And you know, she might not be laughing, but Catalina seems pretty happy to be hanging out with her grandpa," Emma added, smiling at the way Catalina was watching David's face.

"Can't blame her for that, now can we?" David's smile softened as he looked at his granddaughter. "You love your grandpa, don't you, princess?" He asked and was rewarded with a beaming smile. "Yeah, you do. And Grandpa loves you too. Yes, I do."

There was a pause while both David and Emma watched Catalina. "Gosh, she looks just like you," David said, finally. "She's so beautiful." He looked at Emma. "You're both so beautiful. And you're doing a great job with her."

"Aw, Dad," Emma said, embarrassed now.

"I mean it. You're a wonderful mother, Emma," David told her, sincerely. "You make me so proud, you know that? You do."

"Thanks Dad," Emma said quietly. "I love you, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do," he smiled. "But I love hearing it." He leaned over to kiss the top of her head. "I love you too."

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas, Emma."

* * *

 **5th Christmas.** **  
** **Another baby on the way.**

Pregnant. Emma was pregnant with her and Killian's second child. She'd found out a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving and then proceeded to spend the next couple of weeks trying to figure out how to tell Killian.

It wasn't that she'd been worried about his reaction. They'd talked about having another kid and she knew that he was completely on board with the idea. She'd known that he'd be happy to learn that they had another little one on the way. But she'd wanted to find the perfect way to tell him.

And then Thanksgiving had been coming up and it'd be their year to host dinner. Emma had been caught up in making sure that they had everything they needed. It'd been the day before Thanksgiving and Emma had decided that they should make all the desserts on Snow's advice. They'd waited until they'd put Catalina to bed for the night and then had gotten to work.

Mostly work. A flour fight had broken out at one point. A fight that had left both Emma and Killian practically covered in flour. They'd eventually called a truce, knowing that they still had work to do. Once they were done, Emma had announced that she was going to take a shower and get all the flour out of her hair and that he was welcome to join her. If he wanted.

He did. Getting clean had never been more fun. Later, when they had settled into bed, Killian had made an offhand comment that maybe they'd just created a new life. Emma knew an opening when she heard one. She'd simply smiled at him, telling him that they'd already done that. Killian had been thrilled at the news, thrilled to know they had another baby on the way. Set to arrive sometime around June 20th the following year.

* * *

It was Christmas. This year they'd spent the day at Snow and David's farmhouse and had opted to stay the night. Emma, Killian and Catalina had been put in the guest bedroom while Henry was bunking with Neal.

Catalina was nestled in between her parents, sleeping peacefully while Emma and Killian watched over her. "You know, sometimes I look at her and can't believe that we made her," Emma said, quietly. "Our sweet little angel." With the way the light from the bedside lamp was shining on Catalina's soft blonde curls, she really did look like an angel.

"Aye," Killian agreed, smiling as he lovingly ran his finger down Catalina's cheek. "And now we have another one on the way."

"Catalina's going to be a great big sister," Emma decided. "Don't you think?"

"Absolutely," Killian nodded. "Our baby is going to have the best big sister in the land. Along with the best big brother, in Henry."

"I hope this one has your eyes." Emma brought a hand to her stomach. "Seems only fair. I mean, Catalina got mine."

"Yes, and they're absolutely beautiful. Just like yours," he said. "But I must admit that I wouldn't mind my second born having my eyes." There was a pause. "They're like my mother's, you know."

This piqued Emma's interest. Killian rarely ever talked about his mother. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," he confirmed. "I wish I remembered her better. I just remember her in bits and pieces. I remember her voice. She used to sing to me and Liam and she had such a beautiful voice. But when I try to picture her, I can't do it. The picture I have of her is very, oh, what's the word? Fuzzy, I suppose. It's not clear. I know she was raven haired and sometime after she died, Liam told me that I had her eyes. It comforts me sometimes." He laughed a little at himself, feeling self-conscious.

"I bet your mother was beautiful," Emma said, quietly. "And now I really hope that this one has your eyes. Maybe it'll help him or her feel closer to their Grandma Jones." At this, Killian smiled, but it was a sad kind of smile. "You miss her, don't you?" Emma asked after a moment.

"I'm not so certain that you can miss one you barely remember. I suppose I miss the idea of her more than anything else," Killian replied, thoughtfully. "But it's alright. I have you, after all."

"Yeah. You do have me. And Henry and Catalina." Emma reached over to take his hand and guide it to her stomach. "And this little one."

"Aye." He smiled at her. "Lucky me."

"Lucky us," Emma corrected.

* * *

 **6th Christmas.** **  
****Clara's first Christmas.**  
  
Killian woke up on Christmas morning to find Emma still fast asleep beside him. She was hugging her pillow and her knees were curled up almost to her chest. She looked, frankly, adorable. So much so that he'd resisted the urge to wake her from her peaceful slumber. He'd just gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear before getting up and out of bed.

There was a part of him that wished he could go back to sleep, but he was awake now. He decided, instead, to check on his other two girls. Starting with his Catalina. She was over two years old and had what often seemed like an inhuman supply of energy. Killian felt like he spent a fair amount of his life chasing after her. It helped keep him in shape, that was for sure. Plus there was the infectious way she would laugh whenever he caught her and he always enjoyed making his girls laugh.

Though upon checking on her, his energetic little toddler was surprisingly still asleep. Her arms and legs were spread out in all different directions, making her look like a human starfish. He knew that she would likely wake soon, slipping back out of her room to check on his Clara. Nearly six months old now. He couldn't believe it had almost been six months already.

He was careful to keep quiet as he approached her crib, fully expecting her to also still be asleep. And surprised to find that she wasn't. Clara was wide awake and appeared to be examining her tiny hands. "Well, good morning!" he greeted her, reaching down to lightly tickle her tummy with his finger. "And how are you on this fine day, hmm? Did you sleep well, my littlest love?" He smiled when she reached up towards him. "Alright, you. Come here to Daddy."

"Happy to see that I'm not the only early riser around here," he said as he leaned down to pick her up. "You know what today is, don't you?" He lifted his eyebrows, pretending to give her a moment to think about it. "It's your first Christmas!"

Clara's response to this was to start gumming on the side of her fist. "I can see that you're beside yourself with excitement," Killian chuckled, bestowing a kiss on her head. "Well, this is a very special Christmas, I must say. Why? Because you're here, of course! Oh, and I'm so happy you're here, my darling. Yes, I am." He smiled at her while gently pulling her fist out of her mouth and holding it. "Daddy loves you so much, do you know that?" He was rewarded with a smile. "Oh, now you see, how can I ever resist that smile? I suppose I can't, now can I?"

She responded with something that  _almost_  sounded like dada, but not quite.

"You're right, of course. I'm obviously not meant to resist that smile. The very notion!" His smile softened as he watched her. "Merry first Christmas, Clara. I love you."

* * *

 **7th Christmas.** **  
** **The little Christmas elf.**

Emma dreamt that she was trapped in a bouncy house while a little elf kept calling her name. As she woke, she realized that of course she wasn't really trapped in a bouncy house. But the bed _was_ bouncing. The elf, as it turned out, was her three-year-old daughter. Catalina had climbed up on the bed on Killian's side, which Emma noted was otherwise empty. Save for her little daughter who was bouncing on her knees.

"Wake up, Mommy! It's Christmas!" Catalina exclaimed, her voice bursting with excitement. "Mommy, it's Christmas!"

"I'm up, I'm up!" Emma said, attempting to match her daughter's enthusiasm and not quite succeeding. "Merry Christmas!" She sat up and opened her arms, nearly getting bowled over when Catalina hurled herself into them. "Good grief," Emma laughed. "Alright, my little Christmas elf." She eased her daughter back. "Do you know where Daddy is?"

Before Catalina had time to ponder this, Emma and Killian's bathroom door opened and Killian came out of it. "Daddy!" Catalina cheered, scrambling over Emma and down to the floor. "Daddy! Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!" She made a beeline for him, launching herself into his arms when he crouched down. "Guess what! Guess what, guess what, guess what!" She took a breath. "Guess what?"

"What?" He asked, excitedly. "What, what, what?" Now Killian took a breath in imitation of her. "What?"

"It's Christmas!" Catalina pulled back and started hopping, her joy apparently so great that she couldn't keep still. "Daddy, it's Christmas!"

"My heavens," he said. "You could show a little enthusiasm, aye?" It was his turn to laugh as he put hand and hook on her small shoulders. "Calm down, my little love! You're going to wear yourself out."

"But it's Christmas!"

"I know it is," he assured her. "Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

"Merry Christmas, Daddy," she replied, sweetly.

"Now, what shall we do, do you think? Go back to bed?" he teased.

"No!" she protested, looking utterly scandalized by the very suggestion.

"Shall we clean our rooms?" he asked.

"Daddy!"

"Okay, okay, okay," he laughed again. "How about this? Shall we go see what Santa's left for us?" This was met with a resounding yes.

"Come on, Daddy!" Catalina grabbed his hook and attempted to pull him to his feet. "Daddy, come on!" Now he stood, shaking his head at an amused Emma. "Come on, come on come on!"

"What time are your parents getting here?" Killian asked her. Catalina, meanwhile, was now trying to tug him towards the door.

"Probably in a couple of hours or so," Emma answered. "They were going to have breakfast and open their presents together first. Then they'll be on their way over."

Catalina dropped Killian's hook, opting instead to stand behind him and push on his legs to try to propel him forward. "Come on, Daddy!"

"I think someone wants to go downstairs," he quipped.

"You think?" Emma grinned at him. "Go on. I'll get Clara."

"Aye, I'll deal with this one." Killian said, suddenly pivoting around and sweeping Catalina up into his arms. He then spun them around, making her dissolve into giggles.

* * *

 **8th Christmas.** **  
** **Family Cuddles.**

It was Christmas Eve and the Jones family was snuggled up together on their couch. A fire was roaring in the fireplace. The house was full of Christmas decorations, the tree being the grand focal point over near the side door. In Emma's opinion, this was the prettiest Christmas tree that they had ever gotten.

Dinner had been a relatively quiet affair. As quiet as dinner could be with a four-year-old and a two-year-old, that is. They were having the big family get together tomorrow, but tonight it had just been the five of them. Henry had gone up to his room sometime after dinner, not wanting to partake in the family cuddle session. That had been expected, but Emma had hoped that he'd at least stick around for the story. As much as Emma hated admitting it sometimes, Henry was officially an adult now. He'd turned eighteen back in August. She supposed to she should be happy that he'd been so willing to join them for dinner.

Besides, it was hard to feel too sad while she had Clara nestled in her lap and Killian beside them. Catalina had settled in her father's arms, her back resting against his chest. And the three Jones women sat mesmerized while they listened to Killian read  _The Night Before Christmas_.

In Emma's opinion, Killian's voice was absolutely made for storytelling. She could listen to him speak for hours. His voice was so warm and inviting. Killian had a knack for drawing one into the story he was telling. Be it from a book or a memory or something he was just making up as he went along.

Now the story had finished, much to the dismay of the Jones girls. "Read it again, Daddy," Catalina requested.

"I would love to, lass, but I think it's time for you girls to go to bed," Killian said, gently.

"Just one more time," Catalina pleaded. "Please Daddy?"

"Please Daddy?" Clara echoed.

"Yeah, please Daddy?" Emma put in, unable to resist. Killian shook his head, a smile on his face.

"I'm clearly outnumbered here," he chuckled. "Alright, my girls. I'll read it one more time and then you little ones really need to go to bed. Aye?"

"Aye," Catalina agreed.

"Very well." He bowed his head to kiss the top of her head before flipping back to the beginning of the book, though he knew the story by heart at this point. "' _Twas_   _the night before Christmas when all through the house...'_ "

* * *

 **9th Christmas.** **  
** **Relaxation.**

Emma was a little stressed out.

Correction: she was  _very_  stressed out.

It just seemed like she had a million things to do to get ready for the holiday. Food to prepare, a couple of last minute gifts to buy - one of them for her father and the other for Killian. Even though Killian being Killian always said he didn't care much about gifts. Not for himself, at least. He enjoyed buying gifts for those he loved, especially when he'd found them something that they truly loved.

But he always said he didn't need presents and she knew he meant it. For Killian, just getting to spend time with his loved ones was enough. But dammit, she wanted to get him something special. She just had no idea what.

She had Christmas cards to get in the mail, even though she often questioned why she felt compelled to send them when they were only going to people in town. People that Emma would be seeing and thus, able to wish them a Merry Christmas in person. But whatever. She was going to mail out the cards anyway because she felt like she might get thrown out of town otherwise.

Not that that would ever actually happen. Storybrooke needed its Sheriff, after all. And besides, Emma had come to think of most Storybrooke residents as her extended family. There was absolutely zero chance of her getting tossed out of town. And yet she still felt an inexplicable need to mail them. It was madness.

Then there was all the wrapping to be done. She had not wrapped a single present and the pile she had of Christmas presents stuck in her closet seemed to grow each time she'd looked at it. Emma could practically feel the presents taunting her every time she went into her closet. "You'll never get us wrapped, see!" She imagined them saying. For whatever reason she imagined the presents talking to her as if they were part of some kind of classic gangster movie.

It was quite possible she was losing her mind.

Correction: she was absolutely losing her mind. The other day she'd actually asked Regina if she knew of any spells that caused gifts to mysteriously multiply. Regina's response had been to ask if Emma had been drinking.

Emma had taken that as a no.

Maybe she should start.

Okay, that probably wasn't a good idea. She did enjoy a drink every now and then, but getting hammered wasn't going to help anything.

She just needed to focus, is all. She'd taken a good first step and asked David if he'd mind covering for her at the station a couple of days this week so she could check some things off her list. He had agreed.

Her father was a saint. He truly was. Prime candidate for sainthood right there, in Emma's eyes.

Except that when he'd agreed with no begging on her part, she'd said he was a prince. And then made a lame joke about how he really  _was_  a prince and charming. So  _that's_  why they called him Prince Charming. Yeah, it was lame. Very lame.

And it had lead to David asking if she'd been drinking.

The fact that two people in her life had found cause to ask Emma if she'd been drinking based on her behavior seemed to give credence to the losing her mind theory.

It was ridiculous. Why she should be so stressed out this year after surviving every other Christmas up until this point was beyond her.

She needed to get it together and get some things done. So she could relax a little bit. And stop acting like some kind of neurotic, stressed out pod person.

Everything was going fine the first day. She'd gotten a lot of her shopping done, both gift and food related. Save for a special gift for Killian. She still had no ideas. But she'd at least managed to make a dent in her Christmas cards.

On the second day, her mission was clear. It was wrapping time. If only she didn't completely hate wrapping presents. She'd gotten better at it over the years; she could make her presents look pretty nice now. But she hated it. And despite checking some things off her list, she was still incredibly stressed out.

To the point that when she'd run out of tape while wrapping something for her mother, she'd started crying tears of pure frustration. Naturally Clara, her sweet and sensitive three-year-old, was there when it happened and had started crying too. The fact that Emma, notorious for the walls she had built to protect herself, was somehow raising a tender-hearted daughter who cried whenever others cried somehow made Emma cry even harder.

Especially since she felt guilty for inadvertently making her baby girl cry. Trying to calm a little kid down while you were crying yourself was not an easy task. It had been sometime during this little crying session that Henry had come home with Catalina. Henry had done Emma a favor and picked up his little sister from her dance lesson and been alarmed to come home to find his mom and littlest sister in tears. He'd managed to get them both to calm down with assistance from Catalina.

Henry had then sent his sisters into the living room to play and asked Emma what on earth had upset her in the first place. Come to find out? Crying because she'd run out of tape made her son wonder if she had been drinking. Because  _of course_  that was what he would wonder.

* * *

By the time Killian had come home, Emma had been slightly calmer. Henry had kept his sisters entertained while she actually finished her Christmas cards. Had even zipped out to get them in the mail. One of her most annoying tasks was officially done.

And Killian, bless him, had returned home not only with takeout from Granny's for dinner, but tape. Oh yes, her husband had known they were running low and had thought to pick some up. If they weren't already married, she'd want to marry him just for that.

But then Emma had gone back to her closet in the hopes of getting more wrapping done after dinner. Only to let out a strangled scream of frustration as she looked at them. The present pile had grown, once again. She would swear to it.

"Alright, Swan?" Emma turned to find Killian standing there looking bewildered.

"How does that pile keep growing?! I swear, it wasn't that big earlier," she complained, narrowing her eyes when he opened his mouth. "And no, I have not been drinking, so don't ask me if I have."

Killian thought about saying something, but chose not to. Deciding to wait for her to explain instead.

"I'm losing my mind," she confessed. At his eyebrow lift of encouragment, all her holiday related frustrations started pouring out of her. "Christmas is in two days. Two. Days." She lifted two fingers in demonstration. "And I've lost my mind. I'm so stressed out and I don't know why! I don't know how you can be so damn calm. And I rea-"

Evidently, Killian's solution to his wife rambling off a stress filled rant was to kiss her silly midsentence. "You need a break, love," he murmured against her lips. "Allow me to help you."

"But..."

"Ssh." He grabbed her hand and towed her into the bathroom. "I'm going to draw you a bath," he informed her, going to the tub and starting to fiddle with the faucet.

"A bath?" she asked, confused. "Now?"

"Aye," he nodded. "As I said, you need a break. And it'll help to relax you."

"But the girls..." she trailed off.

"What about them?"

"We need to get them to bed," she reminded him.

"I shall attend to our girls," he promised, reaching for the bottle of her favorite bubble bath that she kept by the tub and pouring some under the running water. "Don't you worry about that. Don't worry about what you have left to do. Don't worry about anything at all."

"Oh Killian." Heaven help her, she was getting weepy again as she watched the tub fill with water. As long as they'd been together, as long as they'd been married, there were still times when Emma couldn't believe she had someone willing to do something as simple for her as draw her a bath. Still times when it took her breath away.

It was such a small thing in the grand scheme of things. Especially when compared to some of the things he had done for her. Like trade away his beloved ship in order to find her and bring her home. But to someone like Emma, the seemingly little things he did for her meant so much more than she could ever tell him.

He turned to look at her after shutting the faucet off, his face softening at the expression on hers. He understood. She knew he understood. And loved him all the more for it. "Come here, my love." He opened his arms and she fell into them.

"Thank you," she whispered. It wasn't just for the bath and he knew that too. "I love you."

"And I you," he said, easing her back to give her a gentle kiss.

"Killian?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know what to get you for Christmas," she confessed, tearfully.

"My darling Emma," he sighed, kissing her forehead. "Is this one of the things that's been stressing you out?"

"Yes."

"You do realize that you are the single greatest Christmas gift I could ever ask for," he said, his voice ringing with sincerity. "You and our girls and Henry. As long as I get to spend the day with you all, I'll be perfectly content."

"I knew you'd say that," she said quietly.

"I mean it," he said.

"I know you do." She leaned it to rest her forehead against his. "I still want to get you something."

"Very well," he nodded. "Enjoy your bath. That's what I want for Christmas."

"That doesn't count," she argued.

"It does so count," he countered. "You're putting too much pressure on yourself this year, love. I know it's because you always want Christmas to be special for the rest of us and I love that about you. But if you ask me, you don't take nearly enough time for yourself. You've more than earned it. So let me worry about what needs to be done while you shut the rest of the world out for a while. Let me pamper you, Swan. That's what I want. Alright? Enjoy your bath."

"I guess I can do that," she smiled at him.

"Good."

* * *

 **10th Christmas.** **  
** **Christmas Cookies.**

It was a day for baking. Snow had more or less commandeered Emma and Killian's kitchen, armed with recipes for all kinds of different cookies. Most of them were cookies that she made every Christmas, but there were a couple of new recipes she wanted to try mixed in.

She'd put everyone to work, handing out recipes to the adults and Henry and supervising their efforts. They were responsible for making sure that the cookies were made properly. The children, meanwhile, got to decide how they wanted the cookies to look. They got to pick which cookie cutters would be used and decorate them when they were done.

"Alright Catalina," David was saying as he smiled at his oldest granddaughter. "We have a very important decision to make. Do you want these cookies to look like stars?" He held up the star shaped cookie cutter in one hand. "Or bells?" The bell shaped cookie cutter was in the other. "Or we could get really crazy and do stars  _and_  bells. What do you think?"

"Hmm." Catalina tapped her chin thoughtfully as she looked back and forth between the two. Deciding which cookie cutter to use was serious business, don't you know. "Both."

"Star  _and_  bells," David nodded. "A bold choice, but I like it. Do you want to help me cut them out?" An enthusiastic nod. "Alright. Pick your weapon." It was to be the bell cookie cutter for Catalina. Neal, meanwhile, was occupied putting frosting on one of the other batches of cookies.

And Clara was on what Snow had called sprinkle duty. Like her sister with the cookie cutters, Clara took her sprinkle selection seriously. Snow had come armed with an absurd selection of sprinkles to choose from.

"Mom, don't you think we have enough by now?" Emma asked.

"Oh, you can never have too many cookies at Christmas," Snow replied. "I was thinking we could make little bundles to pass out to our friends. Oh, and Henry, you'll have to take some to Regina's when you go back to her house."

Regina had been invited to the cookie making party, but had come down with the flu and been unable to attend. So it had just been the Charming Jones clan with Henry acting as the representative for the Mills family. At least that's what David had called it.

"Hey Snow, last year you made those mint and chocolate cookies. Are we not making those this year?" Killian asked.

"You mean these cookies?" Snow asked, handing him the recipe card for the cookies in question with a flourish. "Did you really think we wouldn't make these? I know how much you love them."

It was true. Killian wasn't anywhere near as much of a fan of sweets as the rest of the family generally was, but there were some he couldn't resist. And these were one of them.

Not that he was going to admit it.

"I was asking for Clara," he protested. "They're her favorite."

"They're your favorite too, Daddy," Catalina piped up.

"Don't you have cookies to help Grandpa cut?" Killian asked, playfully, reaching over to ruffle her hair.

By the time they were done, Emma imagined that they could open up their own bakery. But then the more she thought about it, the more she realized that her mother had been right.

You can never have too many cookies at Christmas.


	11. Department Store Santa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt: strangers meeting
> 
> An AU that admittedly is loosely tied to the prompt. You don't actually see them meet, though you do see Killian seeing Emma for the first time. In this, Killian has agreed to become a department store Santa Claus and find himself rather taken with the woman who is to play Mrs. Claus. Or Emma Swan, when she's not in costume.

"I don't know how you talked me into this," Killian Jones grumbled as he shoved his arms in the Santa coat his friend, Belle French, had just handed him.

"Because I couldn't find anyone else," Belle reminded him, trying not to roll her eyes. She was one of the managers at the department store where Killian would be pretending to be Santa Claus. "And you were nice enough to do me a favor."

"Hmmph," Killian scowled. Now Belle did roll her eyes.

"Oh come, be a good sport," she urged. "You agreed to do this. And it's not like you're doing it for free. You're getting paid to do this."

"What the bloody hell do I know about being Santa Claus?" He demanded.

"What's to know? You act jolly and ask kids what they want for Christmas. Oh, and you should probably refrain from saying things like bloody hell in front of the children," Belle advised.

"There's no way that I'm ever going to be able to pull this off," Killian complained, eyeing the white beard in his hands. "I'll probably end up traumatizing some poor kid when they figure out that I'm not really Santa Claus."

"That's why you'll try to keep that from happening. And if it does, you just tell them that you're one of Santa's little helpers," Belle said, watching as he finally put the beard on.

"One of Santa's little helpers," Killian repeated, the words dripping in disdain. "I'll have you know, lass, that there is nothing little about me."

"I'm not even going to respond to that," Belle said, handing him the Santa hat.

"Ah, but you did," Killian smirked at her before sticking the hat on his head and then spreading his arms out. "So, how do I look? How bad is it?"

"Not too bad, actually," Belle said, after looking him over. "With that fake belly under there, it actually kind of works."

"Would it really be so terrible if Santa was in good shape for a change?" Killian asked, glancing down at his torso and wincing. "It's such a shame to keep me hiding behind this."

"Santa Claus has a belly like a bowl full of jelly," Belle pointed out. "Deal with it."

"This is so bloody ridiculous. I don't..." Whatever Killian was going to say, the words instantly flew out of his brain as he caught sight of a gorgeous blonde woman across the room. His jaw dropped.

"What?" Belle asked, confused.

"Who the devil is that?" he asked, gesturing to the blonde. "And why don't I already know her?"

"Ah," Belle smirked. "That is your wife."

"You mean..."

"Mrs. Claus," Belle confirmed. "Or Emma Swan when she's not in costume." She stifled a giggle at the look of awe on her friend's face. Killian looked as though he'd just been struck by Cupid's arrow. "Still mad you agreed to do this?" She teased him.

"You know what, Belle?" Killian asked, finally tearing his eyes away from the beautiful blonde that was to be playing his wife and looking at Belle. "Perhaps this won't be so terrible, after all. I must confess that I'm feeling rather jolly all of a sudden."

"Hmm, I'm not so sure that jolly is the right word for what you're feeling," Belle muttered, amused. "Just keep it professional while you're on the clock, alright?"

"Not to worry, lass. I shall be professionalism personified," he said. Maybe Killian had been a little quick to assume the worst. Maybe this job would prove to be a blessing in disguise. Especially if it meant getting to know the lovely enchantress across the room.

* * *

The job was not a blessing in disguise, as Killian learned by the end of his first day. He hadn't realized how hot that he'd get in his Santa Claus costume and he'd had more than his fill of crying babies. It was rather insulting, though he knew it shouldn't be. It wasn't exactly unusual for babies and little children to be afraid of Santa Claus. It was hardly personal.

He knew that. But it was hard to believe it after having eight kids in a row burst into tears in his arms. It was quite astonishing to witness the transformation. Some children would seem perfectly content whilst waiting in line, but the moment they were placed in his arms, it was as if the gates of hell had suddenly opened. Turning what had looked like sweet little children into shrieking little demons before his very eyes.

To make matter worse, his lovely Mrs. Claus had proven to be completely immune to his charms. So far. He'd figure out a way to break through her defenses. He supposed he'd failed to realize that not everyone shared his view of the wee little beasties that were those shrieking demons. As he learned when he'd made the mistake of calling them that in Emma's presence. She'd looked at him like he was some sort of villain, asking him to imagine how it would full to be put in a strangers arms without any say in the matter.

Killian's response had been to suggest that he should have loved to be placed in her beautiful arms at any point in his life. She'd simply sneered at him and said the following two words: you wish.

Ah, that he did. That's how he'd responded, earning himself an annoyed eye roll. He seemed to be earning himself plenty of those lately. No matter. He was not going to be so easily deterred. He would find a way to win over the beautiful Swan, his lovely Mrs. Claus.

* * *

"You should meet this guy," Emma Swan snorted as she scooped up a spoonful of cereal. "He thinks he's God's gift to women or something. Completely full of himself. Has an ego about the size of Texas. And he called a bunch of little kids shrieking little demons."

"Yes, so you've told me," Emma's best friends and roommate, Elsa, said while Emma chewed. "About a million times this week."

"He's just so frustrating!" Emma exclaimed. "And I have to pretend that I'm his wife. I can't wait until this job is over with! I don't know why I thought this was a good idea."

"Because it was a good way for you to make some extra money," Elsa reminded her. "And you don't mind kids."

"Oh yeah, that," Emma said, angrily scooping up more cereal. "I didn't realize I'd be working with the most annoying man who ever lived."

"Hmm."

"What?" Emma asked, narrowing her eyes at the smile on Elsa's face.

"It seems like all week all I've heard is Killian Jones this and Killian Jones that," Elsa said. "You talk more about him than you did about your last boyfriend."

"What exactly is your point?" Emma asked, though she had a bad feeling she knew where Elsa was going.

"My point is that you speak quite passionately about this guy," Elsa said, chuckling at the look on Emma's face. "Are you sure you don't have a thing for him?"

Emma's bad feeling had been correct. "You're not serious," she scoffed. "Me have a thing for that idiot? Please."

"Didn't you tell me you thought he was hot?" Elsa pressed.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Emma demanded, defensively.

"Why mention his looks at all?" Elsa asked. "But you did. More than once."

"Okay, so he's hot. I can admit it," Emma conceded. "Doesn't make him any less of an idiot."

"Mm-hmm," Elsa said, knowingly.

"Don't mm-hmm me," Emma shot back, annoyed. "I do not have a thing for Killian Jones."

"Keep telling yourself that," Elsa said.

"I don't!" Emma asked.

"Whatever you say, Emma," Elsa shrugged, smiling to herself. "Whatever you say."

* * *

"So, I wonder how many of the little darlings we'll meet today." Emma shot Killian a look of irritation. "What?"

"Little darlings? I thought you saw them as shrieking demons?" She asked. They were on their way to work their first shift.

"Why, I've had a change of heart is all, love," Killian said, grinning that annoying grin of his at her. "I've seen the error of my ways. I am but a changed man."

"What you are," Emma began, "is an idiot who thinks that he can charm his way into my pants by pretending that he likes children."

"Dear, Mrs. Claus," Killian said in mock-offense. "I resent the implication that all I care about is getting into your pants, as you say. Although, strictly speaking, at the moment it would be your skirt that I'd be trying to get underneath. And I wouldn't dream of such a thing." He looked over at Emma's snort of derision. "I would also like to state for the record that I never meant to imply that all children were shrieking demons. Just the ones who, well, shriek."

"You probably traumatized those kids," Emma replied.

"Aye, well, I was worried that I would traumatize some children. And wouldn't you know that that was the exact word I used. What a delightful coincidence," he said.

"Only you would find traumatizing children delightful," Emma said.

"No. No, no, no, no, no. My darling Mrs. Claus, what I find delightful is our identical word choice. Clearly, it's a sign that we're in sync," he said.

"Clearly, it's a sign that you must have been dropped on your head as a child," Emma shot back.

"A bit hostile today, aren't you?" he asked, unperturbed by her attitude. "And again for the record? I would much rather that I not traumatize children. But I can't seem to help it. I think it's the belly." Emma watched as he jiggled his fake belly experimentally. "I don't believe that it jiggles as a real belly would," he decided. "It's unnatural."

"I don't even know how to respond to that," Emma said, giving him a strange look.

"No, look, at it." Killian performed what Emma supposed was a shimmy of some sort and found herself fighting off a smile. He looked so utterly ridiculous that she couldn't seem to help herself. "Ah, now what's this? Is that...no, it can't be, surely not."

"What?"

"Was that a smile that just appeared on your lovely face?" Killian let out an over-dramatic gasp. "Did I really just find myself the recipient of an expression of something other than sheer annoyance on your face?"

Emma willed her lips not to twitch to no avail. "You looked completely ridiculous," she informed him. "I think that it might be best for your Santa not to shimmy."

"Why, Mrs. Claus, are you telling me that you don't find this appealing?" Killian asked, once again doing that ridiculous shimmy. "Admit it. You've never been more attracted to me." Now he did what Emma suspected was meant to be a kind of a body roll. "You're finding it hard to resist all of this, aren't you?"

"You're an idiot," she laughed, unable to help herself.

"Ah, that may well be," he said, grinning. "But at the very least, I'm an idiot who can make you laugh."

"I do enjoy seeing you make a fool out of yourself," she admitted.

"It's a start, I suppose," he nodded. "I can build on this."

"Don't be so sure about that, Santa," she said, though she was still smiling. "Wait a second. Your hat's all crooked now." Before she could think about what she was doing, Emma stepped closer and readjusted the Santa hat on his head. "There." She found herself looking him in the eye, surprised at how blue his eyes seemed. They were beautiful.

It was with that thought that Emma took a deliberate step backward. Nothing good could come out of having thoughts like that. So he had nice eyes and could be amusing, that hardly meant anything.

So why was she suddenly feeling so unsteady? She shook her head in an attempt to shake off the feeling.

"Are you quite alright, Swan?" he asked, looking at her intently.

"Uh, yeah," she said. "Come on. We need to get up there." Killian watched her dart up to take her place on the little platform where they took the pictures. A smile crossed his face. Oh, he was beginning to win her over.

He could feel it.

* * *

"What's so funny?" Elsa asked, looking up at the sound of Emma's snicker.

"I was thinking about this ridiculous shimmy thing Killian did in his Santa costume," Emma said, not seeing the way Elsa's eyebrows rose in response to this. Though she did look up at Elsa's hum. "What?"

"Usually when you talk about Killian, I can practically see steam coming out of your ears," Elsa said, grinning at her.

"Oh, not this again," Emma sighed. "I do not have a thing for the guy. He can just be funny sometimes."

"Okay," Elsa said.

"Even jerks can be funny," Emma pointed out, defensively. "It doesn't mean anything."

"If you say so," Elsa shrugged, still smiling.

"I do not have a thing for Killian Jones," Emma insisted.

"Methinks the lady doth protest a little too much," Elsa said, teasingly.

"Shut up," Emma grumbled, making Elsa laugh.

* * *

Emma was beginning to understand that she had completely misjudged Killian. She still found him annoying at times, but she was starting to see that he might not be such a bad guy after all. Not that she was falling for him like Elsa kept insisting that she was because she most certainly was not. She just may have been too quick to decide she hated him. She could no longer say that that was the case.

And then he did something that completely caught her off guard in the best possible way.

They were coming to the end of their shift. There was only one kid left in the line. A cute little girl with dark hair who looked to be around six-years-old, if Emma had to guess. Emma had noticed her in the line as it dwindled down to the last few children. But it wasn't until the kid in front of her had come up that Emma saw it. The little girl was holding a cane.

She was clutching onto the hand of who Emma assumed was her mother. After a little coaxing, the girl slowly made her way up to Killian. Emma could tell the exact moment that Killian noticed what she had. The lower part of the girl's right leg was missing; she wore a prosthetic limb, instead.

"Well, hello there, young lady," he said, using a more soothing version of his Santa Claus voice.

"Hi Santa," the girl said nervously, looking back at her mother for encouragement before climbing up to sit on Killian's knee.

"She's a little shy," her mother spoke up.

"Don't be afraid, sweetheart," Killian said, warmly. "What's your name?"

"Olivia," she said quietly.

"Hello Olivia," he said, smiling at her. "It's very nice to meet you. I'm Santa Claus and this is my darling wife Mrs. Claus."

"Hi Olivia," Emma smiled at her. "Would you like to tell Santa what you want for Christmas?"

"I wish...I wish I had my leg back," she said. Emma felt Killian take a sharp inhale of air and she found herself putting her hand on his shoulder in support. How was he supposed to handle this? This particular situation hadn't come up in the time they've been working.

"We, um, we were in a car accident," her mother said, giving them a shaky smile. "She's still adjusting."

"Well, you've certainly been through quite a lot, haven't you?" Killian asked, kindly. "Do you know what I think?" Olivia merely shrugged, still looking a little scared. "I think that you must be a very strong and brave little lass. And I know that you're going to be just fine."

"I wish I had my leg back," she said, softly. "No...no one wants to be my friend."

"Anyone who doesn't want to be your friend because of your leg isn't anyone you want to be friends with," Killian said. Emma could tell he was struggling to find the proper words. "I should be very honored to be your friend."

"You'd be my friend?" she asked, her expression lifting.

"Of course I would, lass. I think you must be a very special young lady. And do you what? We have something in common," he told her.

"We do?" She asked, her eyes wide.  _They did?,_  Emma thought. It was hard for her to imagine what Killian could possibly have in common with a six-year-old girl.

"Do you see my hand?" He asked, lifting up his left hand.

"Yeah?"

"May I tell you a secret?" Killian made a show of looking from side to side. "It's not real."

"It's not?"  _It wasn't?_ , Emma thought. She wasn't sure if he was just saying that for Olivia's benefit or not. She didn't think she'd ever actually seen him without gloves on since she'd known him.

"It's not," he confirmed. "I lost my hand in an accident. It took me a while to adjust, but I did. And you will too, lass. You're going to be alright."

"How do you know?" Olivia asked.

"Why, because I'm Santa Claus, of course. Why, I have no doubt in mind that you are going to do some great things. And this I must stress quite firmly," he said. "You mustn't ever let anyone make you feel bad because your leg isn't real. You're not any less special because you wear a fake limb, lass. Anyone who tells you otherwise most certainly has a place on my naughty list. While you, on the other hand, are most definitely on my nice list. And the next time you feel sad about your leg, just think that you have Santa and Mrs. Claus on your side."

"I do?"

"Aye, that you do," he said. "Don't you forget that. Now tell me, Olivia, what would you like me to bring you for Christmas?"

"I like horses," she told him after a moment's thought. "Can I have a stuffed one, Santa?"

"I will certainly do my best to make sure you get the stuffed horse of your dreams," Killian said, using his Santa laugh. They took the picture and then Olivia surprised Killian by giving him a hug.

"Merry Christmas, Santa," she whispered.

"Merry Christmas, Olivia," he said, his voice sounding a little rough.

* * *

"You should've seen him with that little girl, Elsa. It was really sweet," Emma said, sounding thoughtful. "And he wasn't lying about his hand, either. Apparently, he was a member of the Royal Navy and lost his hand while he was in the service. That was part of the reason he moved here. I had no idea." She took a sip of her tea. "The man's a hero and I had no idea."

"Hmm."

"What?" Emma asked.

"He's a hero and he was really sweet with that little girl," Elsa said, grinning.

"He is and he was," Emma argued.

"I'm not trying to say he wasn't," Elsa said, quickly. "I just think your reaction to this is interesting. Are you still going to tell me that you aren't interested?"

"I'm...not looking for a relationship right now," Emma said, evasively.

"Hmm."

"Would you stop doing that?" Emma asked.

"Emma, you've gone from ranting about how he's basically the spawn of Satan to gushing about how sweet he is," Elsa said.

"I was not gushing," Emma muttered.

"Sure, you weren't," Elsa snickered. "But I do think it's funny how you've come from vehemently denying having a thing for him to simply saying that you're not looking for a relationship."

"I'm not," Emma told her.

"That's not what I asked you," Elsa countered. "I asked if you were sure you weren't interested. And you still haven't said no." She watched Emma's mouth open and close a few times. "You are, aren't you?"

"I don't know," Emma said, finally.

"Mm-hmm."

"Stop that!"

* * *

"Alas, our time as Santa and Mrs. Claus has come to an end," Killian said, dramatically, as they were walking back to the break room. "Dare I say that it was a privilege pretending to be your husband?"

"You can say it," Emma said, carefully. It was Christmas Eve and they'd just finished their last shift.

"It's alright, love. You can go on and admit it," Killian informed her.

"Admit what?" Emma asked.

"You're going to miss seeing me every day," he said. "You're going to wish that you'd taken advantage of our fake marriage. It's fine if you don't want to say it. I know."

"You're a piece of work, you know that?" she asked.

"I've been called worse," he shrugged. Emma watched as he took off the Santa hat and beard before pulling off the coat. He'd then set them on one of the tables and disappeared to go change back into his regular clothes. She went to go change as well and found it impossible to get him off her mind.

Emma'd only just met him a few weeks ago and she'd started off not being able to stand him. But then the more Emma got to know him, the harder it was for her to dislike him. Now the thought that she may not see him again now that the job was done bothered her. It bothered her a lot. Killian had shamelessly flirted with her whenever he had the opportunity, though he'd backed off a bit as time went on. He still flirted enough to make her believe that he was still interested.

But was he interested enough to keep pursuing her now that the job was done?

Emma went back to the break room and found him there putting on his black leather jacket. His back was turned to her. The remnants of his Santa Claus costume were gone; she assumed that he'd gone to turn them back in. She bit her lip as she watched him.

"If you'd like to take a picture, lass, I'm not going to stop you," he said.

"What?" she asked, startled.

"I could feel your eyes on me, love," he said, turning around and smirking at her. "I can't say that I blame you. I am quite devilishly handsome, aren't I?"

"Oh brother," she muttered.

"Don't be embarrassed," he said. "It's perfectly alright." His eyes softened as he studied her. "Was there something you wanted?"

Emma took a deep breath. She was going to go through with this. She'd made up her mind. "This is probably a terrible idea," she began. "Actually, I'm positive it's a terrible idea."

"And what's this terrible idea, lass?" he asked, intrigued. Emma closed her eyes for a couple of beats.

"Want to go get a drink with me?" she blurted out.

"Why, Mrs. Claus," he drawled, "I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

Emma creeped out of her bedroom on Christmas morning, hoping that she could get some water and slip back into her room before Elsa woke up.

No such luck.

Emma found her roommate sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a cup of coffee. "Elsa!"

"Morning Emma," Elsa said, smiling at her. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas!" Emma said, nervously. "I was just going to get some water and then try to get some more sleep, actually."

"Not sleep well?" Elsa asked.

"Not really, no," Emma admitted, going to grab a glass and fill it with water.

"Hmm."

"What?" Emma asked, wincing at the look Elsa gave her.

"Are we just going to ignore the fact that that's a man's shirt you're wearing?" Elsa asked, calmly.

"Oh this?" Emma asked, innocently. She was wearing a black shirt that did, in fact, belong to a man. On her, it was really more of a nightgown.

"Oh this?" Elsa mimicked her. "Emma...did you bring a man home for Christmas?"

"I...may have," Emma said.

"Hmm. This wouldn't be a certain department store Santa, now would it?" Elsa asked, a knowing smile on her face.

"Kind of?" Emma asked, meekly.

"Kind of?" Elsa laughed.

"Okay, so maybe I did," Emma said, defensive now. "It's not a crime, you know."

"Of course it's not," Elsa agreed. "It's okay, Emma. You're a grown woman. You can do what you want."

"Thank you," Emma said, somewhat mollified.

"And thanks to you, I just won forty bucks," Elsa said, smugly.

"Excuse me?"

"I bet Anna that you'd bring Killian home on Christmas Eve," Elsa informed her. Anna was her Elsa's younger sister and another of Emma's best friends. "Anna had her money on New Year's Eve. And Kristoff had his on New Year's Day. I guess thinking that you'd start missing him and go hunt him down." Kristoff was Anna's husband.

"You...you guys bet on when I would bring Killian home?" Emma asked, somewhat horrified.

"Yup," Elsa grinned at her. "I knew I'd win. You've been crazy about him ever since you met him."

"I...he...you" Emma sputtered, narrowing her eyes as Elsa cackled. "Shut up!"

* * *

 

Emma slipped back into her bedroom carrying not one, but two glasses of water. Just in case he'd woken and was thirsty. She sighed as she set his glass on the bedside table next to him. Killian was on his back with one arm up above his head, his prosthetic hand rested on his bare stomach and the sheets were dangerously low on his hips. Emma felt her heart speed up at the sight of him. He looked pretty good in her bed, she had to admit.

She genuinely hadn't intended to bring Killian home when she'd asked him if he wanted to go out for a drink. No matter what Elsa and the rest of her friends thought. It had just sort of happened. And Emma wasn't complaining. She took a sip of her water as she walked back over to her side of the bed.

It had started with a drink. And then one drink had turned into two. They'd ended up on the dance floor sometime after that second drink and had started dancing, pretty innocently at first. They'd just been having fun and blowing off some steam at that point. It was more that they'd been dancing near each other and not so much with each other. But the space between them had slowly started decreasing. Until there was absolutely nothing innocent about their dancing. If you could even call it dancing at that point.

Emma could distinctly remember the feel of him against her back, his hands on her hips. Remember the way her body seemed to burn wherever he touched her. She could remember turning in his arms and crushing her lips against his. They'd called for an Uber to take them back to her apartment. She remembered him kissing her neck while she fought to unlock her door. She'd also had to fight to stay upright since his efforts had effectively weakened her knees. Emma supposed she should be grateful that they'd made it to her bedroom.

Now Emma couldn't help smiling as she set her glass of water on her bedside table and slid her legs back under the covers. No, she may not have intended to bring Killian home when she'd asked if he'd wanted a drink, but she didn't regret it. Not for a second. She felt the bed shift a bit as Killian turned towards her.

"Mmm," he grumbled, his eyes opening ever so slightly. A lazy smile spread across his face when he saw her watching him. "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Claus." Damn, his voice was sexy in the morning.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Claus," she said, unable to resist scooting closer to him. "Huh. I never imagined I'd ever share a bed with Santa Claus," she added, making him chuckle.

"That's because you've never met a Santa like me before," he said.

"That is definitely true," she agreed. "You're one of a kind."

"Indeed I am," he said, reaching out to run his hand down her side and making her shiver. "It looks good on you, I must say."

"What does?" she asked.

"My shirt," he answered. "It looks far better on you than it does on me. You know where it'd look even better, love?"

"Where's that?"

"On the floor," he answered, making her bite her lip.

"Why, Santa," she said, "I didn't realize you had such a naughty side. I like it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said, pushing him on the shoulder to get him back on his back. "Let me prove it," she added, straddling his hips.

"Oh now, I don't think that I could have asked for a better view on Christmas," he grinned up at her.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I knew I'd win you over," he told her.

"You did," she acknowledged, smirking as she looked down at him.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrow lifting.

"I think I miss the belly," she said, teasingly.

"Surely you jest," he replied, though he seemed amused.

"No, I don't know what it is, but I find you less attractive with it," she said, thoughtfully. Her eyes were twinkling.

"Bloody minx," he shook his head. "Admit it, it was the body roll that got you."

"I did enjoy the body roll," she nodded. "I love watching you look ridiculous."

"I seem to recall other things I've done that you loved even more," he said, his tone suggestive now.

"Hmm, I don't think I remember any of those things," she said, even as her heart started beating faster. "Maybe you should do them again to jog my memory."

"My darling Mrs. Claus." Killian slid his hand up her thigh. "I thought you'd never ask."


	12. A Very Merry Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Today's prompt that's not really a prompt: free for all. 
> 
> This is a canon divergence in which the events of the season 5 finale and season 6 didn't happen. It takes place five months after Zeus sends Killian back to Emma. It's almost Christmas and things happen. I did take a few of my favorite moments from season 6 and rework them to fit into the events of the story. Both Emma and Killian make important decisions about their relationship. Just in time for Christmas. And it looks like this Christmas will prove to be a very merry one, indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's crazy to believe that this is the final installment of the Captain Swan 12 Days of Christmas challenged. I started this hoping that I could at least do a couple and ended up doing them all. I feel like I've done nothing but write about Captain Swan for the past couple of weeks and I'm not complaining about it. Thank you to everyone that's been reading! Especially to those of you that have taken the time to comment, though I appreciate everyone comment or not. Hope you all enjoy this one.
> 
> Merry Christmas!

"One more."

Killian Jones could not keep the smile off his face as he happily obliged Emma Swan's request for another kiss. They'd spent a rather enjoyable evening cuddled up on her couch. The Christmas tree he'd helped her decorate and the fire in her fireplace had made for a beautiful backdrop as they talked about the upcoming holiday, stealing kisses here and there. Sometimes just snuggling in a companionable silence.

Now they were standing under the sprig of mistletoe he'd put up by her front door, Killian leaning back against the wall with Emma in his arms. It was getting late and Killian had decided that it was time for him to head back to the Jolly Roger. It wasn't that he wanted to go back to his ship. He would much rather stay with Emma doing what they'd been doing, but he was worried that he might overstay his welcome. The last thing he wanted was for his Swan to grow tired of him. Not that she seemed tired of him at the moment.

No, they'd been standing under the mistletoe for quite some time. Emma kept asking him for just one more kiss and he kept giving them to her. Who was he to deny her that? "One more," she murmured.

"Quite insatiable tonight, aren't we, Swan?" Killian teased.

"Yes," Emma said, softly, dragging his lips back to hers. "I don't want you to go."

"It's pretty late," he reminded her. "I probably should go."

"But baby, it's cold outside," she protested, making him grin.

"I thought you hated that song," he said.

"I do," she nodded, absently playing with the ends of his hair. "But it's freezing outside. And I'd just as well not have my boyfriend turn into a human popsicle."

"I appreciate the concern, darling, but the cold doesn't bother me the way it does you," he said, gently.

"Yeah, well that might be true, but I still don't want you to go," she said, resting her head against his shoulder. "So don't." Emma turned her head to kiss the side of his neck. "Stay here with me."

"Now how is a man supposed to resist that?" he asked, closing his eyes while she continued kissing his neck.

"You're not," she mumbled. "You're supposed to surrender yourself to my advances."

"Oh I see," he chuckled.

"What do you say, Captain?" Emma asked, pulling back just enough to look in his eyes. "Are you going to surrender or not?"

"It seems I have no choice. I am obviously no match for the Savior," he shrugged. "So yes, my love. I surrender."

"That's a good pirate," she said, smiling at him before leaning in for another kiss.

* * *

It was sometime later and now Emma found herself wrapped up in Killian's arms in her bed. She was absently tracing patterns on his bare chest while he gently stroked her hair. There were times when she thought this was the best part of having sex with someone you were in a committed relationship with.

There'd been a time in her life when one-nighters were as far as she'd ever go. And for a while she'd been perfectly fine with that. She didn't think herself capable of giving anyone more than one night. But then again, before Killian she never would have even considered heading to the Underworld to bring someone back. Not that she'd realized that the Underworld was a real place one could go while still alive, under the right circumstances.

The existence of the Underworld was besides the point. No, the point was that she'd never loved someone that much. Never knew that she had this kind of love within her. True love. Emma had never believed in true love before she'd learned that fairytale characters were real. Never believed it until she learned that she was the product of it. Even when she could acknowledge that what her parents shared was true love, she never imagined that she would ever find it.

Let alone with Captain Hook. It made her giggle to think about that sometimes. To think that the villain of a story she'd known ever since she was a kid would end up being her true love. Emma had long since accepted the reality of her life, but she could still appreciate the absurdity of it all.

Especially since it had brought her to this moment. Sex with Killian was unlike anything she was used to. She'd enjoyed sex before, but this was different. Being with the man she was in love with was different. It just was. It wasn't about his talents in the bedroom, although he certainly possessed many. It wasn't about how he made her feel physically, though she had absolutely no complaints in that department. It went deeper than that.

There was something so wonderfully intimate about having sex with your true love. An intimacy that should have terrified her and for a while it had. Heaven knew that she'd let Killian break through her walls in bits and pieces. That's the way that it had needed to be. Even when she might get annoyed at her inability to let him love her the way he clearly did. She would find herself wishing that she could just get over her issues and let him in completely, even while knowing that she wasn't ready for that.

Hell, she'd known that she loved him for months before she'd been able to tell him so. And the only reason she'd been able to tell him was because she thought she'd never see him again. You knew you had issues when you had to become a Dark One in order to be able to tell your boyfriend that you loved him. And when you were scared to get the darkness out of you because that meant that your future with him would finally begin.

Emma was quite certain that her issues had all had issues of their own. She supposed that the important thing was that they'd reached this point. The point where she didn't feel an overwhelming urge to sneak out of bed after having sex because any resulting intimacy would be suffocating. The point where she found herself on the opposite end of that spectrum. With Killian, she found herself wanting to be close to him after having sex. What's more was that she didn't just want the intimacy, she needed it.

Needed this. Needed to spend her nights wrapped up in his arms and falling asleep with her head on his chest. Needed for him to be the last person she saw at night and the first person she saw in the morning. It was astonishing how much better she slept when he stayed over. The nights he spent on the Jolly Roger were nights where she would find herself unable to sleep. Emma would slip into one of the shirts that she'd stolen from him and bury her nose in them because they smelled like him. His scent could bring comfort when she found herself without his touch. It helped. She could actually get some measure of sleep if she wore his shirts, but it was never good sleep. Just enough to keep her from passing out in her food the next day. Not enough to feel rested.

No, the only times she could get a great night's sleep were when she had the luxury of both his scent and his touch. The only time she could completely relax was when she was in his arms. And now as she tried to snuggle even closer to him, she came to a decision.

A decision that she'd been dancing around for some time, ever since Zeus had sent Killian back where he belonged. By her side. It was time. She knew it with every fiber in her being.

"Killian?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I know what I want for Christmas," she said, her voice quiet in the dark.

"And what's that, my love?" he asked, kissing the top of her head.

"You," she said.

"You already have me, darling," he said, making her smile.

"Yeah, I do," she agreed. "And now I want more of you." Emma took a deep breath. "Move in with me."

"What?" Killian didn't know what he'd expected her to say, exactly, but it most certainly wasn't that. Now Emma shifted enough so that she could look at him, propping herself up on her elbow.

"Move in with me," she repeated.

* * *

"That...that's what you want for Christmas?" Killian sounded like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. Like he couldn't believe that she'd want him to live with her. Emma softened at the look of wonder and amazement on his face.

"That's what I want for Christmas," she confirmed. "Move in with me."

"Are you..." Killian gulped and it was all Emma could do not to kiss him. Not in an effort to seduce, but because he looked so young all of a sudden. Her beloved pirate had lost his mother as a toddler and been abandoned by his father when he was still a young boy. He, too, was an orphan just like she had been. So she could guess how she was feeling.

As an orphan, the one thing Emma had always wanted more than anything was a home. A real home with someone who loved and wanted her. And she knew that Killian had always wanted the same thing. It was easy for other people to make fun of the love Killian had for the Jolly Roger, but Emma got it. That ship was his home, his constant companion. It was where he'd lost his brother and his first love, Milah. Before Emma had come along, those were the only two people he could remember loving him. Killian had once told her that he liked to think that his mother had loved him too. She hadn't left him on purpose.

Nor had Liam or Milah. The Jolly Roger was the closest thing to family that Killian had had for centuries. But as much as he loved his ship, it wasn't the same as being loved and wanted by another person. Now Emma was watching while Killian tried to wrap his brain around the fact that she wanted to share her home with him.

He'd known that this was something she'd wanted in theory. Killian was the person who had found the house that had become Emma's home, him and Henry. The plan had been for them to live together, the two of them and Henry, when he wasn't with Regina. Emma's boys had believed that this would give her something to look forward to. This was the future that she'd been so afraid of and Killian had helped her to see that she didn't need to be afraid. Not of that.

Of course, a lot had happened since then. Emma had turned Killian into a Dark One against his will. He'd been too weak to resist the darkness. Emma supposed it was rather like taking a recovering alcoholic and forcing them to drink alcohol. She had turned him into the very thing he'd spent centuries trying to destroy. She'd done that to him. To save his life, yes, but she'd turned him into the thing he hated most. She'd thrown him right back into the darkness he'd worked so hard to free himself from.

And as horrible as his plan to bring back all the other Dark Ones had been, and it had truly been horrible, he had found the strength to do the right thing in the end. Her Killian, the man she'd always known was still in there, had come back to himself. Knowing that it would mean sacrificing himself and doing it anyway. He'd then been sent to the Underworld and tortured by Hades, only to ultimately decide to stay behind.

Emma still had nightmares about leaving him behind every now and then. It had been five months since Zeus had sent Killian back where he belonged, by her side. And yet Emma still had nightmares about leaving him there sometimes. That was one of the reasons why it was impossible for her to sleep well without him beside her. Bad dreams weren't as common when he was with her and if she did have one, being able to reach out and touch him was a big help. That and Killian was quite talented at being able to chase her bad dreams away.

In any event, Killian had not broached the subject of moving in since his return. Emma wondered if he thought that that particular dream had been taken off the table. And she supposed that she'd inadvertently done that by not bringing it up herself. Now Emma could see that he'd never let go of the dream, the longing to build a home with her. And he couldn't believe that it might actually come true. That she would want it too. Not after everything that had happened.

"Emma, are you sure?" His voice was so rough that all Emma wanted to do was hug him and kiss him and more or less shower him with the love that he'd gone without for far too long.

"Positive," she said, keeping her eyes on his. "Killian, I have a closet full of red jackets. I feel like I can make some space for some black leather."

"Well, when you put it like that, then I would love," he smiled at her as he continued, "to move in with you." Their lips met in a loving kiss, a kiss that was full of hope and promise.

* * *

Killian stood just outside of the house that was his new home, a home he would share with his precious Swan. He was still having a hard time believing it, even while he cradled the last of his belongings from the Jolly Roger in his arms. There was a part of him that would miss living on his ship, but this was everything he had been longing for finally coming true.

"Are you going to come in or not?" Killian was snapped out of his reverie by the sound of Emma's voice. She stood just inside the house, their house now, smiling at him.

"Aye," he said, finally moving from where he'd been standing for who knew how long and joining her inside.

"Welcome home, Captain," Emma said, tenderly.

"A home for Christmas," he said, struggling to speak over the lump that had formed in his throat at her words. "Swan, I never..."

"I know," she said quietly, when it became clear that he wasn't able to finish. She did know. She knew exactly what he'd been trying to say. He'd never believed that he could have this. Not just a home, but someone to share it with. "I know, baby. Neither did I."

* * *

"So, when are you going to ask my mom to marry you, already?"

It was one week after Killian had moved in with Emma, and Henry when he was there. Christmas was in three days and Emma had left the house early to get to the Sheriff station. She was planning on taking both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off and had a mountain of paperwork she needed to get through first. Leaving Henry and Killian alone for breakfast.

Killian had just taken a sip of his coffee when Henry had sprung that bombshell of a question on him with no warning whatsoever. He'd immediately started coughing, nearly choking on his coffee. "Bloody hell," Killian muttered.

"Are you okay?" Henry asked. Killian managed a nod while he grabbed a napkin to wipe his mouth with, his eyes now fixed on the boy. Henry's expression wavered between solemn to vaguely concerned.

"That, my lad, is a matter of debate," Killian answered. "What the devil made you ask me that?"

"Well, let's see," Henry began. "You love my mom and she loves you. And now you're finally living together. So what are you waiting for?"

"We..." Killian stopped, needing to give the question some thought. "Yes, your mother and I love each other. Very much, in fact. But we've only just moved in together. I think marriage is jumping the gun, as they say."

"Really?" Henry asked, channeling his mother.

"What?" Killian asked.

"Marriage is jumping the gun. Really?" Henry repeated.

"It is," Killian said, somewhat amused at the pointed expression Henry gave him.

"Killian," Henry sighed. "My mom went to the Underworld to save you."

"Yes, I remember that quite clearly, thank you," Killian said. "You were there as well."

"Killian. My mom went to the _Underworld_  to save you and bring you back from the dead. _Zeus_  sent you back where you belonged." Henry waited a beat. "With my mom."

"Aye," Killian nodded. "I know our story, lad. What's your point?"

"Killian." Henry sighed again. When he continued, it was almost as though he were the adult and Killian a child. "You know it's true love. It's literally been blessed by the gods. What more do you need?"

"Henry, I'm not so sure that your mother is ready for that particular step," Killian said.

"But you were surprised when she wanted you to move in here," Henry pointed out. "How do you know she doesn't want to get married?"

"Moving in together and getting married are two different things, my boy," Killian countered.

"Like you guys aren't practically married anyway." Henry rolled his eyes. "You do that thing that Grandma and Grandpa do when they communicate without saying anything. It's creepy."

"I have no bloody idea how I'm meant to respond to that," Killian said.

"You guys would literally do anything to be together. Again, my mom went to the Underworld for you. And you sacrificed yourself for her," Henry said. "You obviously want to be together because you're together all the time."

"We're not together now," Killian shot back. It was a childish thing to say, to be certain, but that was the best he could come up with.

"You know what I mean," Henry said. "So, what are you waiting for?"

"Bloody hell, Henry, we're talking about a lifelong commitment here," Killian said, tunneling his hand through his hair.

"You spent, what, 500 years trying to avenge the murder of your first love. I think you can commit," Henry quipped, making Killian's lips twitch.

"First of all, it was closer to 200 years," Killian said. "And I assure you that it's not the idea of making this kind of commitment to your mother that concerns me."

"So ask her already," Henry said.

"What makes you think your mother is ready to make that kind of commitment to me?" Killian asked.

"Dude." At this Killian's eyebrow lifted. He couldn't recall Henry, or anyone else for that matter, ever calling him that before. "For the fourth time. My mom. Went to the Underworld. For you."

"I heard you the first three times," Killian informed him.

"And you still asked me if I thought my mom was ready to commit to you," Henry said, rolling his eyes again. "What, are you scared?"

"Alright, my boy, I am not scared," Killian said, somewhat offended now.

"Then ask my mom to marry you already," Henry said, bluntly. "Though you may want to ask my Grandpa for his blessing first. He'd appreciate that. If you do it soon, you can propose on Christmas."

"You...I...you..." Killian sputtered, making Henry smirk at him.

"Come on," Henry said, standing to put his now empty bowl in the sink. "We're going ring shopping."

* * *

Killian had no idea how he'd let himself get into this predicament. He'd thought Henry had been kidding when he'd suggested going ring shopping. He hadn't been. He'd been dead serious. So they'd gone ring shopping. Henry had helped Killian pick out what he believed to be the perfect ring for Emma. And Killian had been horrified when Henry had led Killian to Granny's under the guise of wanting lunch.

Alright, in fairness, Henry probably did want lunch and Granny's was the most logical choice of venue. It wasn't the fact that they'd gone to Granny's that horrified Killian. It was the fact that Henry had conveniently forgot to mention just who they would evidently be having lunch with.

David.

And just so Killian understood that he was most definitely not the person in charge of this particular situation, Henry had just informed his Grandpa that Killian had a very important question to ask him.

"Well?" David asked, looking back and forth between Henry and Killian. Naturally, Henry had chosen to sit beside Killian in the booth, effectively blocking his only possible escape route. Killian had once told Emma that she had a little pirate in her and that was absolutely the truth. But Killian was rather proud to see that Henry had evidently had a little pirate in him too.

Mostly proud. Because it was that little piece of pirate that had gotten Killian into this mess.

"Henry and I have been shopping," Killian said, finally.

"Well it is almost Christmas," David said, giving him an odd look. "There's a lot of people shopping."

"We were shopping for something very specific," Henry told him.

"Aye," Killian said, shooting a glare at Henry, who had the nerve to smirk in response. "Here. I suppose I might as well show you." With that, Killian reached in the bag and pulled out the ring box, setting it firmly on the table.

"What's this?" David asked.

"Just open it," Killian said, letting out a long-suffering sigh. He watched, making sure to keep his face impassive while David opened it.

"Why, Hook, this is all so sudden," David said, making a show of pressing a hand to his heart. So much for staying impassive.

"You know bloody well that that isn't meant for you, mate," Killian snapped.

"And here I thought you cared," David joked. Though he sobered a couple of moments later. "Ask me."

"What?" Killian asked.

"Ask me what you need to ask me," David said simply. Killian could merely stare at the Prince for a few beats, suddenly quite sure that he couldn't remember the last time he was so nervous. It was absurd. It was up to Emma to decide if she wanted to marry Killian. The decision had absolutely nothing to do with David.

Except that it did, at least in part. Killian understood all too well that Emma was part of a package deal. If they were to be married, her family would essentially become his family as well. Not having David's blessing could make things difficult for all of them.

Especially considering that Killian worried that he might never be enough for Charming and Snow. That they would think him unworthy of their daughter. How could they not when Killian thought that himself? He knew with complete and utter certainty that not receiving David's blessing would be devastating. For as much as he loved his Swan and her son, he'd come to care about Charming and Snow. He wanted to be a part of their family. Emma could decide to marry him, but that didn't necessarily mean he'd be welcomed into the rest of the family.

"Ask him," Henry urged.

Very well. Might as well lay his cards on the table and find out where he stood. It was hard for Killian to tell what David thought of him at times.

"You know that I love your daughter," Killian began. "And that I would do anything for her. I hope that you know that, at the very least. I would do anything for Emma. Anything and everything in my power to give her everything her heart desires." He paused. "David, may I have your blessing to ask for Emma's hand in marriage?"

David studied him for what felt like an eternity and Killian could actually feel himself beginning to sweat. And then the Prince began to smile.

"Of course," David said finally. "Of course, you have my blessing."

"Well, that is a relief," Killian said. And it was. It was a wonder that Killian hadn't lost his recently finished lunch while he was waiting for David to respond.

"Well, I mean it's up to Emma, of course, but yes," David confirmed. "You have my blessing." Now he laughed as Killian ran his hand over his face. "You were really that nervous?"

"Why would I be nervous? Prince Charming doesn't set the bar high at all," Killian said, feeling as thought a huge weight he hadn't realized he was carrying had just been taken off his shoulders.

"Good," Henry said with a nod. "You have a ring and you have Grandpa's blessing. You're all set to ask my mom to marry you on Christmas."

"I never actually agreed to that, my boy," Killian argued, weakly.

"No, but you will," Henry said, confidently.

"You know, Henry," Killian began after another moment. "Given the way you're pushing me to do this, I can guess that I may already have it. But it occurs to me that I should ask for your blessing as well."

"What?" This had thrown Henry for a loop.

"You and your mother are a package deal, lad. And I would be honored to be your stepfather. And since you so wanted me to do this properly, I'm going to bloody do it properly," Killian said, looking Henry in the eye. "May I have your blessing to ask for your mother's hand in marriage?"

"No," Henry said, seriously.

"N-no?" Now Killian had been thrown for a loop. Why the devil would Henry push Killian to propose if he wasn't okay with the idea of Killian being his stepfather? He was just starting to panic when Henry's lips quivered.

"Killian, your face," Henry snickered.

"What?" Killian asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Of course you have my blessing," Henry laughed. "I want you guys to get married."

"You..." Killian closed his eyes, pressing his hand to his forehead while Henry and David laughed at him. "Bloody hell."

* * *

It was Christmas morning and Emma had woken up to find herself snuggled up against Killian's side while he stroked her hair. That was usually how she fell asleep, but usually not how she woke up. She tended to move in her sleep, often waking up to find herself facing away from him. Those mornings, if he were still in bed, she would usually wake to the feel of him against her back.

But every once in a while, Emma woke with her head on his chest. Given her sleeping habits, she sincerely doubted that they'd stayed like that all night. It was more likely that she'd turned away at some point and then eventually found her way back. Or who knew? Maybe they had spent the night like that. Whatever. It hardly mattered. There were worse ways to wake up, Emma thought with a smile.

"Morning babe," she said, sleepily. She turned her head just enough to press a kiss to his chest. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, my love," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Did you sleep well?"

"I always sleep well in your arms," she told him, not for the first time.

"I'm glad," he said, giving her a little squeeze.

"Mmm," Emma sighed, trying to snuggle closer to him. "You're so nice and warm. I think I could stay here all day."

That made Killian smile. "As much as I would enjoy that, we're due at the farmhouse in a couple of hours," he reminded her, chuckling when she groaned. "Don't you want to see your family on Christmas?"

"Sure, I do," she answered. "But I want to stay here too."

"We've not planned anything to do tomorrow," Killian said. "Perhaps we can spend all day in bed then. Would that satisfy you, my love?"

"I suppose," she said. "But I still don't want to get up."

"We don't have to get up just this second," he assured her. "We can linger a while longer."

"Good, let's linger," she yawned. "What?" she asked when he chuckled.

"Oh, just you enjoying a nice, quiet moment," he said. "There was a time when I didn't believe that was possible."

"I like the quiet moments," Emma said. "Especially now that we get them so often."

"Aye, love," he replied. "Me too. I should hate to disturb it, but I'm afraid that I might need to."

"Why?"

"Why, to give you your first Christmas present, of course," he answered. This got her attention.

Emma raised herself up so she could look at him. "My first Christmas present? There's more than one?" This made Killian chuckle again. Indeed, there was more than one. He'd purchased her a simple locket and Henry helped him get pictures of the two of them inside of it. Now Emma could have her boys with her wherever she went.

But then Henry had decided that Killian needed to propose and now Emma would have a diamond ring to go with her necklace. Provided that she said yes, that is. Killian had deliberated over the best time to ask, deciding that this moment should be between the two of them. He just hadn't been sure of when he'd wanted to ask, but he'd woken up and came to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to make it through the day not knowing her answer to this very important question.

And bloody hell, he was practically feeling himself beginning to sweat again. He thought he'd been nervous asking for David's, and then Henry's, blessings. That was nothing compared to now. Now, his beautiful Swan was looking at him in a kind of befuddled expectancy.

"Yes, my darling," he answered, finally, his voice soft. "There's more than one."

"You got me more than one present," she said, sounding awed. Almost like she couldn't fathom the notion that he would buy her more than one present. Emma had come such a long way in the time he'd had the pleasure of knowing her, but he knew that she still struggled with understanding that she was so loved now. That someone should want to not just buy her one present, but two. It was something that she would just have to bloody get used to, he thought. He could happily shower her with presents for the rest of her life. Would do just that, if all went well.

"I did, indeed," he said, smiling at her before reaching for the box that he'd kept tucked in the curve of his hook on his bedside table. He'd wrapped it last night, not without difficulty. Bloody hell, he had to will his hand not to shake. "Open it," he said. He may have managed to keep his hand steady, but he could not say the same for his voice. Emma shifted a bit so she could use both hands to open it, sneaking glances at him while she did.

It was during the time she spent unwrapping it that Killian finally understood just how long an eternity was. He'd thought it was how long he'd needed to wait for David to give Killian his blessing, but no, he'd been wrong. This, this felt like a true eternity. Though this was likely nothing compared to the time he would spend waiting for her answer.

This proposal may, in fact, kill him. Surely, it was unnatural for a heart to be beating so quickly. Now he found himself holding his breath when she finally got all of the wrapping paper off.

"Oh Killian." Now Emma seemed nervous while she looked at the box. Bloody hell. Maybe neither one of them would survive this. Who knew that this was all it took to bring a Captain and his Swan to their knees. Bested by a bloody ring box.

Perhaps Killian was feeling a tad melodramatic. "Open it," he repeated, barely able to recognize his own voice now. He watched as Emma slowly opened the box, her eyes widening as she gasped.

"Killian," she whispered.

"Aye?" Bloody hell, his voice hadn't been that high since he was a young boy. He made an effort to clear his throat.

"D-do you have something to ask me?"

"I suppose that I do," he replied.

"Are...are you going to?" she asked, when he didn't say anything. Right. He was actually going to have to use his voice to ask her what was without question the most important question that he was ever going to ask anyone, ever. He could do this.

"Emma...somehow you've managed to do what no other woman ever could," he began. "You made me want to become a better man. You made me realize that I was still capable of caring for another person, of loving them. You've rescued me from a lifetime of pain and loneliness. My Swan, my Savior."

"Killian." Tears had begun rolling down Emma's cheeks.

"I believe...I should like to believe that I've somehow done the same for you," he said.

"You have," she broke in, her voice scratchy.

"Emma, I know that your life has been filled with uncertainty. And if there are two things that I would like for you to be absolutely certain of, it's my love for you which shall only grow over time. And that I will always, always be by your side," Killian said, reaching to take the ring out of the box. "Emma Swan, will you marry me?"

Killian had thought that the real measure of an eternity would be the time it would take for her to respond, but he was wrong. Emma didn't make him wait for a response.

"Yes," she whispered, straight away. "Yes, Killian."

"Yes?" he repeated, stunned.

"Yes!" Emma's lips were on his own before Killian could say anything else. She was absolutely beaming at him when they pulled apart and he couldn't have stopped his answering grin if he'd tried. Not that he would've wanted to. He slid the ring onto its new home on Emma's finger. This was the start of their happy beginning.

"I love you, Swan," Killian said, tenderly kissing her again. "Merry Christmas, my love."

"Merry Christmas, Captain. I love you," Emma smiled at him before tapping her lips with her finger. "One more?"

"Aye, darling," he replied, delighted with her. "One more."

This would prove to be a very Merry Christmas, indeed.


End file.
